Today's subject is Climate Change and, in particular, whether or not we can keep the planet from the catastrophic damage that our failure to decisively act is bringing ever-closer.
And it's how this is working itself out here in the U.S. that I'm mostly concerned with. The rest of the world is at least trying to take action. The Paris Agreement is, of course, the best-known evidence that citizens and governments are, at least, paying attention and are trying to do something.
As far as how this is going here in the U.S., it pains me to say this, but big business and their bought-and-paid for "scientists" are so effective at brainwashing the average citizen--and, more importantly, the decision makers in whose hands our collective fate rests--that I truly believe there is zero hope of staving off a complete catastrophe. We're doomed.
But, it is also true that when common people who've believed all the bullshit they're being fed by big business and climate change deniers finally "get it", there will be hell to pay!
That is also inevitable. And I believe we're going to get there sooner than most people think.
It's a truly dreadful thing to say, but it's looking more and more like witnessing that "day of reckoning" will be the only "good thing" we who are watching this looming disaster can hope for.
This is instructive: Italian citizens executed Mussolini and then strung up his corpse in a public square for destroying Italy in the Second World War.
Can you imagine what people will do with the ones who destroy the earth?
Let me be clear: I in no way advocate or promote violence for any reason. I'm merely pointing out that karma--like the Earth--gets to bat last and it's going to be very, very ugly. Corporate interests, their talking heads and the climate change denialists have already taken this too far for there to be any other outcome.
I'm hoping and praying that I'm wrong. But all the signs are there and most of us are just not willing to see it. We are way, way ahead of the timeline as far as all the consequences that climate scientists predicted.
If I may be permitted a brief recounting of how all this affects me personally: I carry around a great weight of heaviness because of this seemingly-hopeless situation. And that's true for so many ordinary people who clearly see what awaits and feel like they're watching that proverbial train wreck about to happen.
The unfortunate truth is this: sometimes the bad guys win, there's no remedy, no solution and everything sucks. Like the ending of a Guy de Maupassant short story.
What I can say with absolutely certainty is that the business interests who are trying every trick they know to keep citizens and governments from taking decisive action--something which many large corporations rightfully believe could harm their bottom lines--those interests are winning that fight. It's not even close.
This is a serious problem all over the globe but is especially true here in the United States.
The part I'm not 100% certain about is whether those citizens and their governments can turn the tide and force the concerted and decisive actions which could stave off or at least mitigate the looming disaster.
There is very, very little evidence that they can or will.
"Bulldog Ben" Basile
© 2018 Ben Lawrence Basile
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