Kim Stanley Robinson states in the epigraph of On the Burning Case of a Green New Deal, “the future isn’t cast into one inevitable course.” She is claiming that we still have time to dodge “the sixth great mass extinction event in earth history”. I believe she is correct in stating this claim, but everyday it becomes increasingly less likely.
Or current presidential administration seems to have created an even greater schism between red and blue in which we can not even focus on issues like dodging the “sixth great mass extinction event in earth history”. Instead, it has grown into a Democrat versus Republican battle that raises the question, are you with us or against us? If you have not chosen a side, you have no say.
Unfortunately for us, the bare minimum of accepting climate change as real, happened to fall on the blue side of the spectrum, while denial of climate change seems to consume the conservative party. What is even more unfortunate for those of us who want to save our planet is that one of the biggest demographics of our country, white Christians, widely vote republican, not because they necessarily deny climate change, but because they view a republican pro-life stance as more important. I cannot tell you how many people I know only vote red because of this one issue which they attribute to their religion. In my opinion, it is going to be very difficult to grow a prosperous, long enduring planet if we do not start looking at issues as issues, rather than remaining subscribed to a party.
Dodging the 6th Extinction may not be inevitable but it does seem increasingly improbable, a roll of the dice.
ReplyDeleteKSR is a guy, btw.
His improbable vision, in the last volume of the Pacific Edge trilogy: 2065: "In a world that has rediscovered harmony with nature, the village of El Modena, California, is an ecotopia in the making. Kevin Claiborne, a young builder who has grown up in this "green" world, now finds himself caught up in the struggle to preserve his community's idyllic way of life from the resurgent forces of greed and exploitation."
DeleteSpeaking of Ecotopia, check out the late Ernest Callenbach's vision too, if you want to dream of improbable but still not impossible better worlds ahead.
I can also say that all the people I know that vote for Trump seem to do it solely based on the fact that they are Christian and his goals line up more directly with their faith. I am usually not one to back up the constitution as I feel it requires some more timely edits, however, I find it unconstitutional that people vote in the name of their religion as if the separation of church and state doesn't exist. It really is unfortunate that we are facing such detrimental times and all anyone is focused on is the battle of the two parties.
ReplyDeleteThat speaks to a bigger problem in American politics. It’s always a binary choice between two grab-bags of ideas. What we really need are at least 3, if not 4 parties so people aren't strong-armed into voting for a candidate simply because their main issue wound up being represented by that party. In a land of "freedom" it’s kind of weird that our political system is so limiting in this regard. I guess it has to do with money in the end; an independent or third-party just can't compete with the endless coffers of corporations and interest groups.
ReplyDelete