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While I try to make comments about political ideology gone crazy in a modern world and then almost always end up in a ramble. This guy has the ability to sum up points in a short and concise way that I wish I could. Stephen Fry is one person a lot of people would consider as being able to easy qualify as one of the real “stable” geniuses without ever giving that label to himself. Here he is in one of his informative videos making points on the Corona virus and how the world has dealt with it. It highlights the vast difference between conspiracy theories and real science. Something that is applicable to all aspects of society when dealing with modern day problems.

Last year I made a post that warned of coming weather catastrophes with climate change and not four months later we had one on the largest scale imaginable. So it’s hard not to be angry with wilful ignorance that is still on display with our government and hence the second post. The 2020 Bush fires in Australia has been unprecedented & the summer has only just started. Over 30 people dead so far, more than a billion native animals wiped from the face of the earth along with thousands of properties lost. Then trailing that we had super storms in three capital cities that caused even more damage to property and infrastructure. Australia was always going to be in the front line of Climate change, science warned us of that many decades ago due to our geographical location. Yet despite those warnings, the conservative movement in Australia along with a certain percentage of the population is still driven by this blind belief that refuses to connect human activity with a changing climate. This same movement has also been responsible for the political death of seven OZ leaders in the past decade. Especially anyone who even thought about taking any decisive action to reduce emissions. That’s how mind boggling stupid this is, denying science as if science was attacking their basic beliefs. I mean nothing is more basic than survival or preserving a quality of life. But to these individuals its like denying gravity, after falling flat on your face. No wonder the doomsday clock moved closer to midnight this year. But it’s not just limited to Australia its how conservatism around the world has evolved, small factions that determine a power base for governance because they hold the balance of power. Then drive policies from an economic and environmental template that dates back to the 50’s when a global population was only just over 2 billion. When you steal from nature for centuries this comes with consequences. Science warned us of a breaking point over 40 yrs ago but it was mostly dismissed because it meant a different model economy. Yes these same people who believe in rocket science that can put a missile through your front window but climate science, nope that’s always been a bridge too far. However the price of doing nothing is fairly obvious now. So why does this political minority keep holding the will of the majority at bay. Perhaps the very nature of their politics which can be adverse to change might be one explanation but still its playing Russian roulette with the way we live. Dismissing the smartest minds we have who voiced those alarms decades ago and in fact pin pointed the year it would start. But then it could be more about protecting that tiny percentage of the population who get enriched by never deviating from these policies regardless of the larger cost to billions more. That tiny percentage of people who on their own could not elect any government let alone dictate policy. The irony of all this is, the same model steered in a different direction where fossil fuels became worthless and renewable’s valuable could drive a global economy exactly the same.

The current chaos around world politics at the moment can be very disturbing to a lot of people in different countries. Especially when it involves dismantling  trade and other alliances the West has built up over many decades. While I acknowledge it may not  be politically correct commenting on offshore politics however when some of these crazy choices start to  impact globally then  of course it’s going to invite comment from other countries  affected.  It would not matter so much if these choices were factual based because then it would have a course to run where tangible benefits could be realised.  Only these are emotional decisions that are made,  devoid from reality. A decision based on how you feel which is tribalism at best or plain bigotry at worse wanting to play victim status.  A good example of this in Britain during a recent  interview with a BBC journalist putting a leading wealthy campaigner for Brexit on the spot. Not before highlighting the fact that he had made all his wealth by being part of the Euro.  Then asked him just how does he know Brexit will be good for Britain and the best answer he could give was, he “just knows” and nothing else. In other words he feels good about it emotionally only the reality tells an entirely different story.  It doesn’t matter if its Brexit in Britain or Trump in America, running on empty doesn’t get you far.  Conjuring up wild conspiracy theories  may be what some people take comfort in order to satisfy their mindset.  It’s also one of the downsides of technology, facts can stand alongside fiction in the online world and both seem to carry equal weight. It’s what science and journalism fight every day. So trying to rationalise how people like Trump or Johnson still have support from anything greater than 10% of the voting population is not easy as many factors come into play.  That includes very well educated political people still exhibiting this deliberate stifling of truth in order to keep promoting tribalism. Even if it means giving up long standing moral principles, breaking the law or just flat out lying. To any normal person not caught up in this cult like behaviour its betrayal to your own country, your community as well as yourself.  In summing up my little soap box rant I was trying to think of a sentence that would encapsulate it all. Then I came across an article reviewing the Broadway play “To kill a mocking bird”  and a line was quoted , it reads something like this.   “A conscience can be exhausting. It’ll keep you up at night. A mob is a place where people go to take a break from their conscience”.   This resonated with me as a powerful statement into what is going on in the world right now in some places.  So I didn’t want to post a link to some news room rant on the rights & wrongs of anyone in political office. But rather short excepts from the eulogy spoken by former Presidents Obama and Bush at John McCain’s memorial service in 2018. As this was someone who always put country first above party or anything else. Yes he may have had flaws like all of us but stood up for those fundamental principles. It’s what I hope all countries will find their way back to in the very near future. Tribalism should stop at your family, your community and favourite sports team then not go much further than that or it becomes a destructive force. Forget the swamp, the world is still waiting for “all the best people”

One of the issues that plagues the modern world at the moment is the rise of populism and it’s impact on all of us. Which is another warning signal to human survival by promoting the idea that people with knowledge and science are now the elites who should not be listened to. Just keep putting your faith in the people with power and money as the sole voice of wisdom. This is how the ill informed and clueless get elected into office that put us all at risk. It’s also why we have gone on for decades without any decisive action on Climate change. Currently the Amazon Rainforest is also under stress due to the same factors. A complete denial of reality along with wilful ignorance that is inherent in a corporate culture that drives land clearing & burning off. It also questions that wisdom of allowing power and money without governance to always do the right thing. So it’s no secret I believe the world should take action on climate change and while it might involve drastic lifestyle changes for some. The vast majority of the worlds population won’t see much change at all. That is the stark reality of it all, trying to leave our grand children with a half decent planet to live on without massive global conflicts and a sustainable environment.