Let's Pretend

 

I know. The news is grim and it's coming fast and furious. It's hard to take. It can overwhelm, generating feelings of helplessness.

I've been something of a Cassandra for years, many years. Today that's reached new heights but that's hardly my doing. The perils have deepened and the impacts are coming on faster. We're moving into uncharted seas and the waters are a lot rougher than we counted on.

So what should we do? Should we ignore the ground shifting beneath our feet? Maybe a posey, a nosegay to mask the smell. That would be nice. Or why don't we just pretend? Out of sight, out of mind - except when it hurts.

We could revisit the old standards, especially the old "they'll think of something." They will think of something, right? Not sure quite who "they" are but that doesn't matter just so long as they think of something.

I feel the need to explain, to justify my negativity. What is this dreariness all about? 

I don't believe "they'll think of something." They don't need to. We're not suffering from an absence of know-how. Our problem is a reluctance to engage, a lack of will to do what's required. Our leaders' failure of vision is only eclipsed by their glaring dearth of courage. They're a bunch of grey suits stuffed with wet cardboard. Not exactly confidence building.

It's naive to believe we can undo the damage. That's not going to happen. That horse left the barn a long time ago. That's not what's important now. So what is?

The Hippocratic Oath tells physicians they must cause no harm. We need to follow that same rule. We have to stop causing harm. Our grandkids and future generations will pay for the harm we are causing today. Science has been quite good at predicting what's coming. Their failure has been in not realizing how quickly this emergency would unfold.

So, why don't we stop fucking up the future? Wouldn't that be a good idea? Maybe we should stop deluding ourselves. We should absolutely stop believing people who are lying to us, claiming they're climate leaders when that's simply not true.

We may not be able to undo the damage that's already locked in. We can, however, stop making the future worse. We can choose that, from this day on, we will no longer cause harm. We have to change course and, like all great change, that won't be entirely pleasant. 

Cause no harm. That's really not to much to ask, is it?


Comments

  1. LorneJuly 8, 2021 at 2:46 PM

    You may already have seen this, Mound, but if not, give it a look. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/08/trudeau-love-fossil-fuel-makes-canada-extreme-weather-worse

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibJuly 8, 2021 at 4:32 PM

      I saw that this morning. Even mentioning that draws the ire of Trudeau's faithful followers. Sometimes they seem nearly as feral as Trump's base.

      It's come to the point where Liberals put party ahead of country. That's sad but true. Worse, still, is a party that places its supporters in that bind. Their fallback position that O'Toole is worse is wearing thin.

      Delete

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