The framework of denial
Climate change is the most dangerous threat that has ever existed with respect to the future existence of our society, with the possible exception of nuclear armageddon. Nuclear armageddon was easier to understand, because we had an enemy. The Soviet Union was the bad guy and it was easy to focus preparation, response, and recovery efforts on the conflict with them.
Climate change is different. Ultimately, we must conclude that the existential threat to our being was brought on by ourselves, and decisions that we made in the development of our society. This necessity has an interesting and often comical feature — denial.
Where nuclear armageddon was widely accepted in society by a fearful populace, climate change is not yet widely accepted. Not in the U.S. it isn’t, at least, due to denial that is funded by capitalist interests dating back as far back as [link url=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExxonMobil_climate_change_controversy” title=”Exxon Mobile in the 1970s“] but is still fully in force today.
Just look around. You can find denial happening everywhere. And it’s particularly distressing [link url=”http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/12/ted-cruz-climate-change-pause” title=”when our elected public servants“] participate in it. They should be held accountable with respect to their dereliction of duty.
But we don’t do that.
Backlash: How truth and facts destroy fantasy and denial
That brings us to today.
Right now, an [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/01/us/florida-algae-pollution/” title=”algae bloom in Florida“] is damaging the economy and the environment. This is serious stuff, as so many businesses and the future of the ecosystem depend on us understanding and evaluating what’s going on accurately and competently.
Examples
Florida senator and prior presidential candidate Marco Rubio has not shied away from [link url=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marco-rubio-climate-change_us_56e239f3e4b0860f99d8882b” title=”his perspective on climate change“]. The problem is that his perspective doesn’t hold up to factual evidence. In fact, he has a denial problem with respect to what’s presented right in front of him. Florida is suffering immeasurably in real time from climate change. An algae bloom that was largely [link url=”http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/06/3795436/rubio-cause-and-effect/” title=”enabled by climate change“] caught his attention, and he demanded that something be done about it. But apparently Marco Rubio [link url=”http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/06/3795436/rubio-cause-and-effect/” title=”cannot associate his political perspectives with the results“], because his political perspective has directly or at least enabled the smelly disaster that came about.
The same is true with respect to presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump has made his [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/03/22/this-is-the-only-type-of-climate-change-donald-trump-believes-in/” title=”fact-free perspective on climate change“] very clear. However, nature has the ultimate and final say with respect to retribution.
We can confidently assert that Donald Trump [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/06/donald-trump-climate-change-florida-resort” title=”cannot associate his political beliefs with the results“], and further, that [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/06/donald-trump-climate-change-florida-resort” title=”the sea is surrounding his empire“] and he cannot figure out why.
Can we help?
So, as public servants dedicated to the health, well-being, and success of our served populace, let’s help them.
Let’s point out every time that they have failed to see the connections between cause and effect. Let’s point out every time that the political perspective that they prescribe to is in error and damaging the well-being of the public they’ve sworn to serve. Let’s point it out over and over again. Eventually, our honorable and dedicated voices will get through, and supplant and banish the voices of denial.
In the long game, it’s our only hope.
[relink url=”https://amuedge.com/state-of-emergency-declared-in-florida-due-to-algae-in-waterways/”]
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