Summer 2009

A world of radical possibilities

By Christy Rodgers, Editor

Ten years have radically changed the medium of expression of this journal, but what about the message? WHAT IF? promotes the historical perspective, the idea that what remains least changed in the wake of technological revolutions and the now-imploding frenzy of "growth" economies is, as Albert Einstein said, "the mind of man." Consciousness is altered by culture and circumstance, but not at such a speed or so completely that we can't recognize the freshness and resonance of thoughts expressed hundreds, even thousands of years ago, in languages that may no longer exist. As well as, on the down side, the persistent inadequacy of humanity's response to its own aggressive and exploitative behavior. Even trends that appear superficially new have roots, the vast rhizomic structures that both biologists and contemporary philosophers have identified as central to how information is transmitted and used to create and maintain life. So you may find voices of people long dead here, not just the latest iteration of a given idea that happens to be getting play right now. That's the idea behind the PastPresentFuturePerfect section.

One newly circulating idea with ancient roots is the crucial need for humans to realize that they act as part of, not separate from the natural world. Advanced technology seems to obscure this interdependence, but even by sitting here (where? you have no idea) manipulating an electrically powered, human-built machine in a largely human-constructed environment, I am still inextricably woven into and dependent upon systems no human created, nor is capable of altering at a fundamental level, except possibly by destroying them. So part of what we do in this singularly a-physical medium will be to find words, images and sounds that constantly return you to awareness of that essential connection. Hence Surviving&Thriving.

New issues will appear seasonally, but some material may also change or be added within a given issue, thanks to the flexibility of the format.

WHAT IF? is inevitably a political cultural journal, if political means acknowledging that the struggle of groups of people for power is an essential aspect of the human experience. It does have political preconceptions: that huge concentrations of power in small groups of people are ultimately generative of conditions that threaten not just the wellbeing but the survival of the great majority of beings, human and otherwise; that ignorance, arrogance, greed and fear are the best friends of such destructive power, and they should be seen as the four true horsemen of our apocalypse and taken out of the saddle if it is to be averted. Our belief is that the broadened awareness of possibilities, capable of creating the "collective leap of imagination" that Jeff Chang writes about, continues to offer an alternative to our most destructive tendencies. Poetry, visual art and other forms of creative expression will be presented with that idea in mind.

But WHAT IF? is a personal project, despite the editorial "we" used above, so the material it contains, while trying to reflect those beliefs I outlined, will simply be what comes to my attention and stays there, because it helps me to think about the concerns I have in ways that are fresh, engaging and useful to me. And, I sincerely hope, to you too... Please read on, and let me know.