Those are all excellent questions, Lillian, and ones with unsatisfying answers. The blinking lights are indeed everywhere, and there are a range of reasons people aren't reacting with alarm and action. Many are simply uneducated, many rely on poor sources of information, many reject the facts from fear of them. Many simply feel the problem is so big they can't make a difference anyhow. Some have worked for the devil so long, they can't see the truth. Sometimes when I try to impart a little bit of my knowledge in daily life, I am stunned by the lack of awareness of climate change. People struggle to survive, so there is little time for growth, and that little time is in competition with our atrocious entertainment culture. Those at the top of the food chain may be so buffered they don't see the problem. Except for the ones building bunkers. They sure as hell know.
I try to remind myself that change, good or bad, comes down to a minority of people and their actions. Whose voice might make a difference? When America finally entered WWII, that made a difference. So did the Russians on the second front, we couldn't have won without their brutal sacrifices and the resolve of countries in Europe against absolute madness. When people unite, they get things done. This is a different type of madness, an invisible enemy. It's harder to make a visceral connection.
However, there are people out there on the front lines, toe-to toe with the police, risking their safety and freedom, so I try to think about them when this work is hard. If I was younger, I might be on those front lines, too. I can't now with some annoying and unwelcome physical deterioration, but I can write and inform as you do. I sleep better trying. Wish I had a magical answer.
I agree. We have all been participants. Even trying to live small and conscientiously, we are participants. I often feel the irony of speaking out about the system on my computer, dependent on the internet and ultimately fossil fuels, the enemy that has landed us here.
I have been asking for people to step back with me. People like me. People with children so sensitive they must have clean air and clean food to exist. They're all too afraid. They're uncertain and waiting for some devastating sign that it is now or never. It seems to me there are devastating, large, neon, blinking signs everywhere. How can we be on the same planet and see it so differently?
Most seem blind to the fact that nothing will get better, everything will only get worse. Even my spouse seems more like them than me. I am so confused by this. Why is it not as clear to others. Why can't they see the data shows there is no rebound. There is only sinking, that will just increase in speed. I have been called a pessimist my entire life. Yet I have also been accurate in everything bad thing I saw coming. Can't they see the lies from the truths?
How do we undo their resistance to seeing what is right in front of them? I have spent my life trying to show with fact, all the conditioning we have received so that we no longer can trust ourselves. That we must now reject that conditioning and learn to trust ourselves. I am not getting through. It is so frustrating.
Thanks, Geoffrey, great post! Yes, the “unspoken lie,” and on top of that, no consideration AT ALL of the massive amount of (fossil) energy required to perform the so-called transition to “renewables.” Yes, de-growth is needed, a great reduction in GDP, but remember that the Great Depression was only about 10% drop in GDP (although it was also a “bear-raid” in which the fat cats pulled their chips off the table and went home). We need to live a more simple life! See https://kathleenmccroskey.substack.com/p/limits-to-progress
Everything you say is true. The justice fights are all intertwined - environmental, economic, racial, healthcare, immigration - and share dependencies.
Our own 2 party political system is not made up of opposing teams…as someone else noted recently (I cannot remember who), they’re on the same team passing the ball down the field. Those who control the purse strings are the ones with the power. When combined with their nihilistic mindset (poster child Elon Musk) they are treacherous.
The trillion dollar question is how do we reverse course?
Those are all excellent questions, Lillian, and ones with unsatisfying answers. The blinking lights are indeed everywhere, and there are a range of reasons people aren't reacting with alarm and action. Many are simply uneducated, many rely on poor sources of information, many reject the facts from fear of them. Many simply feel the problem is so big they can't make a difference anyhow. Some have worked for the devil so long, they can't see the truth. Sometimes when I try to impart a little bit of my knowledge in daily life, I am stunned by the lack of awareness of climate change. People struggle to survive, so there is little time for growth, and that little time is in competition with our atrocious entertainment culture. Those at the top of the food chain may be so buffered they don't see the problem. Except for the ones building bunkers. They sure as hell know.
I try to remind myself that change, good or bad, comes down to a minority of people and their actions. Whose voice might make a difference? When America finally entered WWII, that made a difference. So did the Russians on the second front, we couldn't have won without their brutal sacrifices and the resolve of countries in Europe against absolute madness. When people unite, they get things done. This is a different type of madness, an invisible enemy. It's harder to make a visceral connection.
However, there are people out there on the front lines, toe-to toe with the police, risking their safety and freedom, so I try to think about them when this work is hard. If I was younger, I might be on those front lines, too. I can't now with some annoying and unwelcome physical deterioration, but I can write and inform as you do. I sleep better trying. Wish I had a magical answer.
I agree. We have all been participants. Even trying to live small and conscientiously, we are participants. I often feel the irony of speaking out about the system on my computer, dependent on the internet and ultimately fossil fuels, the enemy that has landed us here.
I have been asking for people to step back with me. People like me. People with children so sensitive they must have clean air and clean food to exist. They're all too afraid. They're uncertain and waiting for some devastating sign that it is now or never. It seems to me there are devastating, large, neon, blinking signs everywhere. How can we be on the same planet and see it so differently?
Most seem blind to the fact that nothing will get better, everything will only get worse. Even my spouse seems more like them than me. I am so confused by this. Why is it not as clear to others. Why can't they see the data shows there is no rebound. There is only sinking, that will just increase in speed. I have been called a pessimist my entire life. Yet I have also been accurate in everything bad thing I saw coming. Can't they see the lies from the truths?
How do we undo their resistance to seeing what is right in front of them? I have spent my life trying to show with fact, all the conditioning we have received so that we no longer can trust ourselves. That we must now reject that conditioning and learn to trust ourselves. I am not getting through. It is so frustrating.
Such a big lie, all of it. Great post.
Thanks, Geoffrey, great post! Yes, the “unspoken lie,” and on top of that, no consideration AT ALL of the massive amount of (fossil) energy required to perform the so-called transition to “renewables.” Yes, de-growth is needed, a great reduction in GDP, but remember that the Great Depression was only about 10% drop in GDP (although it was also a “bear-raid” in which the fat cats pulled their chips off the table and went home). We need to live a more simple life! See https://kathleenmccroskey.substack.com/p/limits-to-progress
🤣😂🤣😉
Or we could fly Boeing …..
Well said!!
You understand what is going on. Now the question is what to do.
Everything you say is true. The justice fights are all intertwined - environmental, economic, racial, healthcare, immigration - and share dependencies.
Our own 2 party political system is not made up of opposing teams…as someone else noted recently (I cannot remember who), they’re on the same team passing the ball down the field. Those who control the purse strings are the ones with the power. When combined with their nihilistic mindset (poster child Elon Musk) they are treacherous.
The trillion dollar question is how do we reverse course?
New subscriber here! Much to like. I will add "Degrowrh" to my banner. So:
"Depopulate, Degrowrh, Rewild."