Filed under: In Vino Veritas, In Aqua Sanitas | Tags: conservation, Economics, Education, fossil fuels, Germany, humanity, humor, humour, Hungary, intelligence, Italy, life, nature, Poland, Politics, Russia, society, Syria, tolerance, USA, voting
âAn individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.â Martin Luther King
Even as I write this I know that I must continue to maintain hope for the sake of my young son and all that I know is excellent, beautiful, and good in this world. Intellectually I know there is so much. But emotionally itâs getting harder to believe this. I increasingly feel more impotent, discouraged, and disdainful with humanity and its actions. Not just what I read in various news outlets, but what I observe around me every time I leave the house. My sense of humor is failing me. Iâve noticed in recent months that I donât laugh my big, open-mouthed laugh any more. This is stupid, too, âcause losing oneâs sense of humor only makes matters worse. Iâm not sure how to maintain strength, hope, and humor when all of the things that give me hope and joy (tolerance, kindness, intelligence, collectivism, excellence and the magnificent natural world) seem to be diminishing. I write this today in the hope that it will serve as a catharsis. In the hope that Iâm not alone in my thinking.
So, here is the litany of global events that have happened in the last two years that, in my opinion, reflect societal values and are consequently undermining my belief that this world is fundamentally a righteous place:
Syria, with the aid of Russia, prompts a mass migration of immigrants to the EU, which in turn emboldens racist, xenophobic, & nationalistic ideology throughout Europe, threatening the basis and formation of the European Union.
England & Wales, as a result of a misinformation campaign (Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Nigel Farage) withdraws from the European Union and takes Scotland and Ireland with it.
With the aid of the Electoral College, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and Russian interference, Donald Trump takes the USA White House.
Emmanuel Macron narrowly beats the right-wing Front National (since ‘rebranded’ and going stronger than ever in time for the European Elections in a couple of weeks, aided by the Yellow Vest movement).
Jair Bolsonaro is elected in Brazil and vows to ‘open up’ more of the Amazon to industrial interests.
A fascist right-wing party is elected to lead Italy. With Viktor Orban of Hungary, they call for leaders to be elected in the upcoming EU elections who will reduce immigration (wolf whistle for ideology that defies EU principles).
Germany has representatives in their parliament from the far right for the first time since the Third Reich.
Spain has representatives in their parliament from the far right for the first time since Franco.
Sweden narrowly maintains a Socialist government, as does the Netherlands, in relatively recent elections.
There are mass shootings in the USA almost weekly. There is encouragement to shoot immigrants by Trump. Immigrants looking for shelter stateside are separated from their families, caged, and âlost.â The meat and water that the populace eats and drinks are contaminated due to decreased FDA and EPA protections, as well as the loosening of controls on industrial practices. The American administration is attempting a coup in Venezuela, and alienating democratic countries that the USA has had global alliances with for a hundred years.
Public education around the world is under siege. Teachers work for noble reasons or they donât know what else to do. Students and their parents increasingly value education as a means to get into a âgoodâ university in order to get a âgood job,â in order to earn a lot of money, rather than for learning in-and-of-itself. Arts and humanities are being cut throughout the world, even as they define civilizations.
The wealthy elude taxes that keep infrastructure present for everyone. Multi national corporations elude taxes. The poor resent taxes. Income inequality grows more disparate, and this in turn affects our collective gene pool (subsequent lifestyle habits, healthcare resources, educational opportunities, etc.).
And climate calamity is on the horizon.
What is the global response? It’s open season on wolves and bears – necessary creatures for healthy ecosystems. Trophy hunting laws and endangered animal protections are eased. The hyper rich want their wildlife pets to signify status. The Chinese still think rhino horns are medicinal. Poaching is rampant. Nature reserves are under attack. Japan has re-introduced commercial whaling. The Faroe Islands continue to have an annual ‘ceremonial’ whale slaughter. The Arctic melts but short-sighted people just want jobs on oilrigs and fishing tankers. Habitat destruction and deforestation are destroying animals and insects essential to life itself, as well as plants that make medicines that keep humans living longer than ever before.
Industrial and corporate interests dominate governments and cultures. Governments throughout the world continue to subsidize the fossil fuel industries, which in turn continue to spend millions of dollars each year to lobby against clean energy and to keep consumers addicted to their goods. Pollution is literally choking humanity, making our children sick, and killing our natural protections against this.
Today, despite the rest of Europe – France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands – fighting for 95% reduction of emissions by 2050, Italy, Hungary, Poland, and Germany rejected the motion. Reducing pollution and promoting sustainability is not in the interests of the powers that control many countries and their societies. And without governmental laws to MAKE people change their habits, there will be no real change.
And it’s not histrionic to say that if this doesnât change, it means that we humans will then die after much suffering. We will face water scarcity, food shortage, illness, and war over resources…droughts, storms, fires, earthquakes will render populations homeless…animals, insects, and natural landscapes will be eliminated. But the planet will live on. Yes, we humans will take many of the current animal and natural species with us to our extinction, but eventually there will be new ones, and new forests, and new life. But it won’t include our children or us. Certainly not our childrenâs children.
What do we do? We continue to consume more than we need and to waste too much. We continue to have a lot of children. To eat a lot of meat that requires a great deal of land to harvest (not to mention what happens to the poor animals). To order things online that are shipped across the world because they’re ‘cheaper’. To buy disposable clothes, toys, plastic, goods of all kinds because we simply want them, they’re cheap, we don’t care what’s happening to the earth or to others, and because the measure of ‘success’ is material. We continue to drive huge, petrol/diesel guzzling cars. And fast, despite signs asking us to slow down ’cause speed effects emissions. We fly more than ever before in human history âcause we can. Finally, led by anger and fear stoked in mainstream media, we vote with our manufactured feelings rather than our reason. We vote for our own individual interests. Or we don’t vote at all.
This diatribe has, indeed, worked as a catharsis.
Even as I withdraw more these days and my humor is limited, I know that hope is not lost. The fight is not foregone. Feelings have not completely overridden reason. There are righteous folks fighting for all of us every day. Yes, Putin and his ilk are ruthlessly greedy for domination. Political leaders and would-be political leaders will exploit the anger and ignorance of the masses to their own end, creating backwards, unproductive societies for a generation or two. Most people will avoid their taxes unless theyâre punished. Humans wonât want to reduce their creature comforts or to look directly into the face of their destructive habits. And humans without material goods will continue to want them. I donât have any real power to affect the world on a macro level (if only â boy would I be good at being Queen of the world! Obviously modest).
What I CAN do is to focus my energies personally and politically:
- Personal life appreciated and a moderate lifestyle maintained â mostly âtick,â though this can always be improved upon.
- A rewarding profession that helps the world in some way â mostly âtick.â
- Living according to my values â exalting beauty, excellence, intelligence; modeling curiosity, kindness, and tolerance; cherishing socialism, liberalism, and conservation â not quite a tick because Iâve been wallowing in anger and resentment towards humanity in general for awhile â but I am working on it.
- Voting for candidates who I believe will address at least a portion of the aforementioned injustices – tick.
- Supporting causes and action that will fight for conservation of the natural world (as well as humanity in general) â tick.
Filed under: From the Soap Box | Tags: bears, ecology, Elephants, fossil fuels, Lake Michigan, lions, oil, South Dakota, wildlife, wolves
The manifestation of all of the rotten elements of US society that have been growing over the last 50 or so years is terribly overwhelming and heart-wrenching.
The FCC ruling today is a big blow to its last semblance of democracy (and its cut to subsidies for the poor to have internet access is simply mean). The looming tax cuts for the very wealthy, including write-offs for private jets and other corporate expenditures, as well as inheritance tax avoidance is blatant avarice. Meanwhile, teachers, fire fighters, police officers lose itemized deductions, and the opportunity to own a home, put their children through university, and to receive healthcare without a lifetime of debt. The hypocrisy of the Trump regime regarding sexual assault is sickening, as is the publicâs preoccupation with it in the face of the larger atrocities being committed daily by this administration while the public’s attention is averted. Those who are excessively wealthy and who run the government must be laughing at the stupidity of ordinary people. In a complex and insidious way, we are all complicit in what has happened.
However, all of the aforementioned doesnât matter in the long-run if there are no more forests, or natural lands, or safe drinking water, or the air canât be safely breathed. Nor does any of it matter when wildlife has been eradicated. The Trump regime had already lifted a ban on the hunting of wolves and bears (and their young), made deals with oil companies to build pipelines & drill for oil in protected territories to undermine the welfare of our planet, its animals and ourselves. Only today a pipeline spilled hundreds of thousands of oil in South Dakota and a steel corporation was discovered dumping tons of toxins into Lake Michigan.
And if this wasnât enough, the Trump regime reversed legislation that protected elephants and lions in Africa. Today, the wealthy donors to this administration received some âpaybackâ because they can now âhuntâ down these animals and bring âtrophiesâ in the form of their body parts back to the US in order to display and, ostensibly, impress guests (?!). Let that sink in â the body parts of a lion or an elephant as a âtrophyâ to be mounted somewhere in their house. Imagine how these elephantâs babies will feel when some soul-less white man fells their mother or father or brother or sister. They will suffer fear and loss. They will grieve. They are sympathetic, smart, wise, and loving creatures that are family-oriented. They mourn for those members who die, and they remember them long after they are shot, dismembered, and carried back on an airplane by a savage.
***Addendum: Trump says the elephant ban is âon hold.â Outrage, thank goodness, must have been enough. However, this administration will âslip it inâ when no oneâs looking, so to speak. Also, this still leaves the issue of lions as trophies & wolves being hunted down in their dens…
Filed under: Chronicle of Trump administration 2017 | Tags: Abortion, American politics, CDC, EPA, fascism, fossil fuels, immigration, muslimban, Oil drilling, tax credit, Trump
*Need to put in cabinet nominee information/hearings.
Because each new day with this unpopular man in the White House is yet another affront, I feel I must list, each day, Trumpâs actions in order to chronicle and to order in my own mind.
Disclaimer: I understand that this is not an exhaustive list. I have rationed myself maximum two hours to read the news and go on social media each day, and I task myself with checking two sources for all information read.
If you, a prospective reader, have information to add to any of this, please do let me know â thank you!
Jan. 20, 2017
- Womenâs March DC extends to millions marching across USA and the rest of the world.
Jan. 21, 2017
- Trump claims more at his inauguration than at the Womenâs March and that CNN is spreading falsehoods about his inaugural day and the crowds there.
- Spicer press meeting, âalternative factsâ enters the publicâs vernacular via Kellyanne Conway.
- Trump repeals a low income tax credit for first time homebuyers.
Jan. 23, 2017
- Trump signs order to revive construction again on Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines.
- Reference to climate change wiped from the White House website.
- Trump declares there will be an âinvestigationâ into voter fraud during election2016 due to âillegalsâ voting.
Jan. 24, 2017
- Trump signs order to deport three million Muslim immigrants, to temporarily halt immigration, and to (re start) a Muslim registry. Various city mayors and police forces declare they will not support the deportation.
Jan 25, 2017
- Trump signs order to begin building wall between US and Mexico (NAFTA?)
- EPA banned from posting updates, reports, information on climate change on website, via social media, or the press.
- Trump signs order to repeal EPA financing for scientific research saying it is a âconflict of interests.â
- Trump announces that there will be investigation into de-funding âsanctuary citiesâ for immigrants (see Jan. 24).
- CDC cancels their attendance to a major climate change conference.
- Trump signs âanti abortion order.â The order blocks United States funding to foreign organisations that perform or provide advice on abortions.
Jan. 27, 2017
- Trump orders a travel ban on all citizens, travellers w existing visas, green card holders, dual citizenship holders from seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Protests erupt in major cities airports all over the country.
Jan. 29, 2017
- Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are ejected from the Principals Committee of the National Security Council. In place of them and added as a regular member is the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist, the publisher, Steve Bannon. Also added as a regular member, Trumpâs Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Jan. 30, 2017
- Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is fired after she instructs Justice Department not to adhere to the executive order by Trump to Muslim ban due to the legality of the order.
Jan. 31, 2017
- Betsy Devos nominated as Education Secretary.
- Senate Democrats boycott nomination hearing on Mnunchin and Price.
- Trump says America fully behind Muslim Ban and to ignore the âhysterical criesâ of the TV and protesters.