Month: May 2020

A lot more needs to be done! This might be our chance.

People are focusing on containing this virus and reducing death and suffering (at least some are, see my last blog). This is all well and good and should be done. However, this “down time” was/is also a time to rethink how almost everything is done. Yes, I mean everything. What could I be talking about (have I lost my mind?)? Let’s find out.

First off, the most likely reason why this virus came about in the first place and spread to the human species so easily is because we have acted so irresponsibly regarding our production of food. Someone ate an infected bat or snake (which ate the bat). In 2020, humans shouldn’t be eating such food (nor other “more civilized” forms of food, more on this soon). Scientists had been predicting this for years (see ref 1 and ref 2) and yet almost nothing was done. In fact, we keep increasing our risk for additional pandemics because of how we raise food (see ref 3 and ref 4). But have you heard anything about changing the way we raise food during the past couple months? There are ecologically-grounded ways to raise food that would greatly reduce our risk of future pandemics, so we need to integrate them immediately. Unfortunately, nearly all institutions of “higher” learning promote the same, large scale, monoculturally-driven, dangerous methods of agriculture—ones destined to promote more infectious diseases.

Second, we need to overhaul nearly all mainstream media forms. Why? Well, a short list of demonstrable reasons includes: (1) they have failed to address the above issue/link regarding agriculture and disease; (2) they have held very, very few leaders accountable for lies and extreme blunders (if not, criminal acts); (3) they continue to rely almost entirely on the profits derived from advertising (one of the reasons why they are incapable of holding anyone associated with extreme wealth and power accountable for anything); and, (4) they focus almost no attention on what we, as an empowered citizenry working collectively, can do to stem the tide of wrongdoings or accelerate the positive changes that are possible and necessary. Rather, we are told daily that we must wait for a vaccine and for the weather to improve…and of course, wash our hands and wear our masks. Time to change, no?

Third, we need to remove money from the process of determining who our elected representatives are. This has long been known and yet those that are elected, they themselves products of a corrupted system that increasing relies on more and more $$, do little to nothing to correct it. (In fact, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 which gave corporations unlimited ability to fund political campaigns—a 5-4 decision mind you—suggests how money has contaminated nearly all levels of Federal government.)

Fourth, we need to reconsider what money is and how it functions in our society. The current crisis and, specifically, the ability for the federal government to send out trillions of dollars of money to companies and citizens, should send a message to all of us. Money is just “paper” or an “electronic” form of power. It is only as meaningful as the powerful in a society make it to be. Consider a diamond? What if you had a five-pound diamond in your possession. What would it be worth? Practically nothing, unless you could convince someone that it was worth something (to look at, wear, or use as a paper weight)? This is actually the same for money. Consider taking old Argentine bills (before its economic collapse) or even current Japanese yen to your local grocery store. The merchants there would laugh at you, even if you had a LOT of coinage. There are ways to conduct our economy that are outside the currently dominant monetary system (I will blog about this next). We need to really look at this carefully and do it soon.

There is more, a lot more (future blog? readers’ comments?) to be done. But these four things are among the four key ones. What do you think needs to be done? What are you willing to do to get these things done?

And finally, why now? This is another blog in itself, but suffice it to say that people are probably most aware that the systems protecting us and providing for us are broken at so many levels. They, hopefully, are more inclined to consider new ideas and maybe even try something different now.

You Really Want the Truth? Probably Not. Most Don’t.

The pandemic sweeping the world has brought a lot of things to light. Many, many people prefer to believe in something that isn’t true, if it makes them feel better about themselves and their immediate surroundings. Delusion is the word for this state of mind and it seems to be a perspective as contagious as the virus itself.

As someone following, researching, and reporting on the state of the environment for the past 20+ years, I have always felt that delusion was widespread but only now, as we all face this monumental challenge, did this mental contagion express itself so ubiquitously. But looking back, this disease was always present and visible, though less recognizable.

So many natural systems are extremely stressed out by human activities, yet, little effort is being made to reverse these trends. The vast majority of people don’t do much of anything to make things “right”. As I have written here previously, I fully understand that most who are economically-strapped and time-limited are not in a position to do much given the way our society is structured (i.e., they are dependent on a hyper-capitalist economy that exploits their labor and compels them to consume commercial products until they literally drop—by another well-known disease known as affluenza). However, if one is on a ship that is crashing, it makes sense to get off the ship or at least attempt (really hard) to redirect it.

Let’s briefly look at the current situation. Since the beginning of the outbreak, increasing numbers of people were calling for a return to “normalcy”. Primarily, their appeal was couched in economic terms. The argument goes something like this: we absolutely have to save the economy, even if it costs thousands, perhaps millions, of lives. Now, we find this has become the dominant attitude; bars have opened (or are soon opening) in many parts of country. Despite warnings from key epidemiologists and virologists, politicians are feeling the heat from swarms of constituents (some strangely brandishing high-powered weapons).

All of this is happening despite the reality that the United States has already witnessed the most deaths from this virulent, yet microscopic, virus. Thousands of first responders have lost their lives in order to save others. More will undoubtedly perish/suffer as well, especially as hordes of people flock to bars, parties, and shopping malls. These actions are being criticized by some but these responses are being overwhelmed by our collective compulsion to “shop” our way out of misery. And as with most ecologically harmful actions, the unwise decisions of the irresponsible and inconsiderate among us will make matters worse for all.

Yet, how many are asking key questions that deserve clear responses? Was this pandemic inevitable? (No, it wasn’t; I will likely write more on this later.) Why weren’t we prepared (and why does the U.S. appear to be among the least prepared of all)? Why are first responders’ lives being recklessly disregarded despite their exhibiting amazing bravery and compassion for an extended period of time. This extreme callousness by some leaders and residents alike is reminiscent of the way we treat our soldiers before, during and after combat. Absolutely despicable. Yet, the caskets keep getting filled and there is, yet, almost no accountability for the immoral acts of those in authority who have the power to mandate things like PPE for all responders, virus tests for all (not just the few and symptomatic), expanded resources to public health centers, and so many other consequential “life and death” programs and opportunities. Clearly, we need to really dig deeper and expose the lack of preparedness and other serious misgivings of our current government, media, and economic structures. Failure to do this serves to feed delusion and ensures that it maintains its hegemony in our collective psyche.

To be sure, I have one of the most serious cases of delusion. I claim to have dedicated my life to make things better for all. I have tried a lot of things and I continue to do so. However, I still go about my business like most others. I also don’t have the courage to be a “first responder” nor the wherewithal to put my neck out there too far to expose the system for all its shortcomings. A blog that twenty people read doesn’t count for much. Much more needs to be done. A lot, lot more (my next Blog). I realize this and I am still trying to figure out what is next for me and possibly for us. Yet, the more I think about it, the more delusion creeps in, particularly when the wave of delusion from so many others seems to be growing exponentially in force.

If others wiser and more insightful than I have ideas for what we can do to cure delusion, please let me know.

[I recognize that this blog is less optimistic than most that I write. It identifies a mental “disease” that might be more difficult to cure than the virus at hand. Any disease that is going to be eradicated must first be properly understood and deeply investigated. To begin that process is my goal here.]