Friday, July 8, 2011

Climate Change and Gilligan's Island

We are doomed. Completely and irrevocably.
I thought I'd freshen up the day with a blast of positivity.
Just read a scathing opinion piece in Rolling Stone by Al Gore regarding climate change. I refuse to call it global warming because the pinheads in the world will say "It was a friggin' cold winter. There ain't no such thing as global warming." We humans have a remarkable capacity to deny truths that disturb us; and an even more remarkable capacity to be manipulated by the media, corporations, and politicians.
It was disturbing to read because he laid out some frightening truths about how our political system works, how biased some elements of the media are, and just how much power corporations control.
It hit me that this is the ultimate extension of greed. Companies that pollute the earth fight hard to dispute proof of climate change despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so they can continue to profit. The ultimate outcome is the extinction of the human race. Capitalism is a beautiful thing, is it not?
Maybe the theory of capitalism assumed the existence of conscience on the part of those capitalizing. Obviously the theory of capitalism was formulated by an alien who had zero insight into human nature.With the absence of conscience, capitalism becomes a disease that has no cure, benefits the privileged few and exploits the great unwashed.
Got me to thinking about our gutless politicians who bend over so corporate cash can be inserted into the proper receptacle. People who previously admitted to the danger of climate change and have since reversed their opinion because they are campaigning for the presidency and THEY NEED THE CASH. Politicians and corporations lie to the public and misrepresent facts more than ever. This disturbs me as a child of the sixties. It was my generation that exposed the truth that corporations and politicians do not care about this country, their constituents, their employees, their customers or humanity in general. Profit is the goal, and lying, cheating and stealing is the way to get there. What truly bothers me is that the upheaval in the sixties accomplished nothing. Corporations are bolder than ever; both in their money grubbing and the callous way they openly defy anyone who tries to stop them.
Gore attacks the media in this article. Talks about the networks that disseminate lies or purposefully undermine the truth in order to promote a political agenda. And they call it news.
I got two words for you. They are vile and they are an oxymoron. Cover your eyes if you are squeamish. Fox News.
This is the ultimate display, the ultimate proof, of just how stupid the American public is. People actually watch this stuff, believe it and then go out in public quoting it. It is common knowledge that the news idiots are told just how their words should be slanted to pervert the truth and promote the lies. And people gobble this stuff up.
Gore makes the point that we get most of our information from the tube. People read less than ever (that ain't saying much; the only thing 98% of the American public has read since the dawn of the internet is lame forwarded jokes, and The All Inclusive Guide to Internet Porn).
In reality it's not hard to understand the followers of fox news given the popularity of reality TV. It's all the same and it is all about exposing the dark side of human nature. Viewers wallow in it; the pettiness, the drama, the ugliness. A country that celebrates the exploits of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians while simultaneously disputing the birth place of The President of The United States is a kindergarten country doomed to extinction. But I digress.
The right people will not read Gore's article. That is the frustrating thing about fighting the good fight. Corporate detractors will find ways to dispute his points, and if a Fox viewer tried to read it, he would be confused by the very first word of the article. Which is The. Assuming a Fox viewer can even read.
My wife and I are passionate devotees of MSNBC. We got turned on to it when President Obama was running for office. After flipping around and comparing news sources, we found it to be an intelligent and insightful source of information helping us to make a decision. There is a definite bias there, but overall I think you get facts, and lies are exposed. Devoted as we are, we flip over to Fox from time to time for comparison. We are often infuriated with the transparent stupidity and lies, and the brazen way they disrespect President Obama. Just as often we laugh and shake our heads at the grade school mentality of the "newscasters." Flipping back and forth is an emotional adjustment; kind of like flipping from Death of a Salesman to Gilligan's Island.
Anyway, we are doomed. If TV is where we get our info, and if the majority of Americans watch Fox news and reality TV, if politicians are controlled by corporations who don't care if the human race is wiped out (as long as it is not in their lifetime), then we don't stand a chance.
The Gore piece is excellent. Read it if you have the guts.

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