My brother-in-law once sent me a comic video by John Cleese about Extremism. I’m sure you can find it on YouTube if you look. It laughs at extremism and it is funny. But, from listening to that, I realized that I am extreme about Climate Change.
The way I look at it though, the less people listen, the more extreme you have to get. People were pretty shitty with the Extinction Rebellion mob who glued themselves to Melbourne’s city streets and to the roofs of aeroplanes. It was very annoying for commuters and the Extinction Rebellion got a lot of bad press. But look around!! The Student Rallies play by the rules and are lucky to get any press. And Greta Thunberg gets terrible press just for being who she is. Scientists play by the rules and are ignored.
Being well behaved doesn’t get you anywhere. I’m pretty sure that’s Donald Trump’s Rule #1.
People on the other side of politics don’t play by the rules. I mentioned last year the Ted Talk by Carol Cadwalladr. Facebook will not produce any of the pro-BREXIT propaganda/ads which were seen and believed by vulnerable people in England and Wales. Facebook only cares about making money. That’s another form of extremism. Our own government has: 1) illegally produced signs in Chinese which imitated AEC signs and which said they needed to vote Liberal. 2) allegedly stolen money from a Sports Grant fund to support their election campaign 3) Lied unashamedly about Labor Party’s supposed funeral tax which never existed. 4) Continue to suggest they have policies to combat Climate Change but I don’t know what they are. Do you?
P and I have often said that if the opposition want to get into power, they’ll have to start playing the nasty games that the Coalition play as a matter of course. It’s sad but true.
I have had a massive argument with a friend over the last week about Climate Change. I have gone against all the rules suggested by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (which this blog is named for). I tackled it head on, I got extremely upset and I got a bit personal. My friend told me I was being disrespectful and I didn’t deny it. But I felt the disrespect was mutual. I find stuff like “Don’t scare the children” really insulting. For goodness sake, it’s the children we’re fighting for. It’s like saying “Don’t scare the children by saying they can’t talk to strangers!” It’s their future!
“Don’t tell the soldiers but there are a bunch of enemies with machine guns just over there!! Shshshsh!”
Of course I stay as positive as I can for my kids but I want them to know I care! Imagine if they found out I knew about it, understood it and I did nothing?! I would be the shittest parent on Earth. No. I think Santa Claus is a stupid idea (although 6 years ago I didn’t have the courage to buck the trend) because it’s a deliberate lie. But Santa Claus is a piss in the ocean on the lie scale. Climate Change is the real deal. I’m not lying to my kids about that.
What really confuses me is the illogic of disbelieving it. Here’s my analogy.
The Coronavirus has come to your city/town. It’s killing people and it’s scary. You get two conflicting bits of advice. One says that it is only contagious while a person has symptoms (in real life this is what the Australian Government is currently saying). The other says that there is a two week incubation period before any symptoms appear. During those two weeks, the carrier is already contagious (in real life this is what the Chinese government is currently saying.) So, you can believe the Australian Government maybe because you trust your own government more, right? But what if the Chinese Government is right? You are unnecessarily putting yourself at risk. Wouldn’t it be wiser to take the more cautious approach?
Well that’s how I see Climate Action. Even if you’re not sure about which advice is correct, don’t you just act on the one that is more likely to keep you safe and well?
Out of the Cave 