As we start to grasp the reality of the upcoming end of times, many of us will feel tempted by a "We Are the World" way of thinking. You might find yourself drawn toward unwarranted sharing, and the next time you're dining out, you might even notice that you're opting for a seat at the community table instead of that cozy quiet seat in the corner. What's next for you if you start making life decisions that will adversely affect your digestion? I strongly advise against falling into any kind of rainbow-like, all-embracing oneness with the universe, let alone your next-door neighbor.
Sure, if we had unlimited time, I'd say, Let's organize a few million-man picnics. If there were days to spare, we could dot the planet with a series of mile-long conga lines. I'd be the first to say, Let's fill every available music studio with every aging rocker and raise money for every crisis we can still create in these final days. As well-intentioned as all these activities might be, they don't seem the most efficient use of our time as we enter the “gather our rosebuds while we may” time of our existence. I'm not suggesting adopting a mean-spirited, selfish philosophy but rather reminding you that those rosebuds are not going to gather themselves.
Something that might help us concentrate and focus as we live-stream the coming apocalypse is practicing some healthy separation. I know that people tend to have a bias against walls, but I think we need to switch from thinking of walls as dividers and recognize them as fortifiers. they can be bulwarks against bullshit, barriers that keep away anything that might impede our goals. You might think you don't need any partition protecting you, but let me remind you that as nice as exploding rockets might look you want to be on the other side of the rampart when viewing their red glare.
Back in the day, I was the lone voice asking Mr. Gorbachev to put back that wall. They could at least have taken it down slower or even tried dressing it up a bit: Hang some art, give it a fresh coat of paint. Who knows what a little splash of color and a few trompe l'oeil doorways might have done?
Sometimes you break down barriers by raising walls. There is no limit to how many can be constructed, and there is no limit to the closeness we can achieve with all this separation. The beauty part is, while we're building all these bridges, we will also be growing our economy. Wall building can be the next growth industry. We can partition our way back to economic health, and I promise you, we will never have to worry about a wall bubble: We can always tear them down and sell the pieces as souvenirs.