"Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene", Roy Scranton

I must admit I barely skimmed this longish essay in the New York Times. So why am I bringing it up? Because there's one short phrase that brought me up short, utterly subverting my expectations.

I'm so tempted to lay out the phrase directly, but I think doing so would rob it of its impact: you really should read the whole piece (even though I didn't). Like the payoff in any good story, it needs to be earned. I'll say only that it's part of the third-to-last paragraph.

The essay is a meditation, and I suppose a call to action, on humanity's future in light of climate change.