Citizen ZOO
A brief study of the dystopian future of Homo sapiens, by Sal Godoij.
The current state of world affairs is leading citizens to anger, depression, trauma, and tragedy, leaving individuals without roles, identity, or purpose.
We need challenges to grow; stagnation brings self-destruction.
Connection gives us purpose; without it, identity fades, and the spirit dies.
Today, we lack the wisdom and ingenuity to reverse these trends. We create unnatural habitats, fuelling mistrust, hostility, and passive-aggressive behaviour. We accept the threat of endless wars, and robots and AI threaten to replace human work.
Everywhere are signs of this decadence, but no leader acts. Therefore, society, guided by confused leaders, short-sighted politicians, with the silent majority’s approval, is forging a new human: “Citizen ZOO.”
Citizen ZOO will be the dregs of a once proud civilization. Emerging from the shadows of our proudest achievements, Citizen ZOO will seek illusionary satisfactions, worst even than the ephemeral satisfactions sought after by Homo sapiens.
Five factors drive this transformation: illogical reasoning, ambition, naivete, egocentrism, and mental blindness.
Before entering Citizen ZOO’s world, consider that it is developing in cities. Every metropolis is becoming a ZOO—not a zoological garden but a zoo-illogical one.
The artificiality we live in cities shapes our reasoning, ambitions, and blindness. More people are disengaging from this artificiality, thus becoming Citizen ZOO.
Citizen ZOO will transform society, but not as we hope. The next threat won’t be nuclear, natural, or technological. It will be, but Citizen ZOO: ordinary citizens driven by anger, disappointment, and hopelessness. Their trust and hopes are being damaged, surrendered to algorithms, social media, and technology.
Citizen ZOO will grow apart from transcendence. As a result, wisdom will be lost, common sense will be gone with the wind, and truth or lies won’t matter anymore.
Will be wondering why we couldn’t prevent it?
Think of it. It’s happening now, but this process will accelerate soon.
Justice and compassion are vanishing from the hopes of the new citizen, whose way of life is determined by the ambition and blindness of leaders, business people, and scientists who lack precisely both values: justice and compassion.
Despite so many warnings, misguided leaders persist in creating the most fearful apocalyptic creature: Citizen ZOO.
Provoked easily, the police won’t be able to control Citizen ZOO. Chaos will become the norm; anger and disrespect will prevail. Crime will rise, and justice will falter, unable to restrain self-educated, disgruntled youth, adults, and seniors.
Citizen ZOO is now a ghost but will soon become real unless we change course toward communal civilization.
It will be a present with a long past but no future.
