Our species has brilliant scientists and engineers and (mostly) terrible leaders. All the leaders are failing and the multiple crises threaten our collective survival.

Despair is rational.

That said, the end isn’t written. The tragedy is that we probably have the ability to survive and flourish — but not the inclination.

There are many possible outcomes. Those in power might suddenly see their own doom and reverse course. Ordinary people may turn on the insanity and a cultural change will create a return to sanity. Or nothing may change and Earth will become a burnt dead cinder.

But remember this: a huge number of people, possibly the vast majority, are not insane and are alarmed by what is happening and concerned by their powerlessness to save our species and our planet. These people don’t make the news and that warps our analysis. There is both hope and sanity. But the insane, right now, are in charge.

For now, my personal approach is two-fold: a radical kindness to everyone, including the cruelly insane and putting a spotlight on the greatest evils wherever they appear. At the micro level, these are the tools I have at my disposal.