Why Does Everything Seem Absurd Right Now?

My honey and I went to see the new Avatar movie last week for his birthday. We’re avid Sci-Fi fans, and we had seen the first two installments by storyteller James Cameron, so we looked forward to three-plus hours of AI magic.

We thought it was a pretty good plot, and the special effects were, literally, out of this world. And there were nurture and nature themes and challenges that we humans run into often that were handled well. I was curious when we got home about reviews, so I surfed around searching and reading.

What I found was…profound apathy tinged with anger: Yeah, yeah, we’ve seen it all before, this is just James Cameron saying the same old thing, we’re unimpressed by these special effects, the story was weak, etc. etc.

Huh….is that what we’ve come to as humans (or at least, Americans), complete disinterest or even annoyance at anything that dares to try to say something creatively?

Apparently some of the time, the answer is “yes”, but not for the reasons you might think.

Things are changing so fast in our world, that old answers, old ways of explaining what’s going on, simply don’t apply any more. And this is driving us crazy, which explains a lot of the apathy, suspicion and/or outright hostility we see around us. For instance, we used to think that experts know best, right? When I grew up in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, an expert’s word was law. Now we ask, what has the expert got to gain from that expert opinion? Who is funding this expert and possibly influencing what they think or advancing their career? Who gains power or money here? And what are other opinions on this question?

These can be healthy responses, and can help us learn and move ahead. However, the danger is to fall into apathy, anger, and/or mistrust that erodes our faith in everything around us. We begin to resent the fact that, from our point of view, we’re being honest, hardworking, well-meaning human beings (something that others may or may not acknowledge), so why can’t those around us be that way? And that can really irritate and stall us out.

There are some answers being considered by Creative Systems Theory, a center for advanced leadership training, and those answers say we’re in a very strange part of our development as sentient beings, where everything is beginning to look absurd, similar to a hallucinogenic trip. We can’t make sense out of everyday life, so we try to save ourselves through apathy, anger and/or over-the-top tactics. If it seems like everything doesn’t make sense right now - politically, environmentally, communicatively - it’s because we’re in a transitional phase that’s scaring us and causing us to use aberrant behavior to try to get back to solid footing.

In other words, like cornered animals, we’re protecting ourselves by lashing out. At everything.

We’re exhausted with all the input we receive everyday through our phones and online. We don’t know what to pay attention to, and what to believe. We are losing our ability to communicate in a person-to-person way, because we spend so much time checking up on each other from a distance. We get instant news, and it’s often tragic, shocking, scary, and we feel completely out of control to process or stop it. And here in the US, political norms are way off the rails.

However, Creative Systems Theory (a term coined by founder Charles Johnston) says that we will catch up at some point, come up with solutions, and then head in a new and different direction that will help us to feel like things are on track again. We are actually on the road to a kind of cultural maturity, where we figure out how to deal with a whole new way of looking at life.

This isn’t a new phenomenon: history is replete with examples of what is called Transitional Absurdity, for instance:

• The fall of the Roman Empire (where Julius Caesar is named “dictator for life” inside a system designed to prevent kings)

• The French revolution (where people were killed in the name of human rights)

• The collapse of the Soviet Union (where everyone knew the system didn’t work, but still claimed to follow it)

These were all times when the old rules no longer applied, but there were no new rules yet. As a result, chaos reigned and people were scared, apathetic and miserable. Sound familiar?

This is what we’re going through in 2026, and the critical thing to do about it is: nothing. We need to wait and see what emerges, be on the lookout for new rules and ways of doing things. But don’t despair; this period is simply a part of being human and is the painful birthing process of a new era. We will eventually stop doing stuff because of systems built for a reality that is actually no longer here. We will step into a new era, and life will make sense again.

Pamela Bayard Foard is the author of the children’s book, “Giselle and the Little Idea”. If you liked this post, please show the love by clicking the little heart, or better yet, leave a comment! I would love to hear from you.

Brainstorm is a reader-supported publication. All of my work is currently free, and all subscribers have my deepest gratitude. I’m honored that you’re here. If you’ve been reading for awhile and have the resources to support my work, please consider a paid option. Your gift helps keep independent publishing alive.