I agree with the author of the meme here, and I believe that if we were to follow the course he suggests we’d be a lot less steamed about these issues than we are now.
Having said that, it appears that science is in the process of proving that our belief systems are wired into our brains, and that we ourselves have far less agency than we think we do in determining how we think and act.
Take me as an example. As readers know, I’m an atheist and a progressive. From my earliest memories at three years old, I’ve been an animal lover and a disbeliever in God. Mustn’t there be some basis for this in my genetic code?
In terms of experiences, I went to a private Quaker (pacifistic, non-violent) school, spent six years of college/graduate school studying Western philosophy, and had a business career that served clients in a dozen different countries. You could take 100 people with this make-up, and I doubt you’d find a single Trump supporter.
Now, do I understand the far right? Of course I do. I had the incredible good fortune to have all this line up, starting with my birth in Philadelphia my adoption at age five months by two kind, intelligent, and honorable people. But it’s not to imagine having been born in Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Mali, or Mississippi.
We all carry with us the idea that our basic personalities are self-determined, that we create our characteristics from our own choosing. I question that.
There really are threats to human civilization that seem to be mounting in intensity:
• World fascism. (If it can happen in the U.S., it could conceivably happen anywhere.)
• Environmental collapse.
• Malicious use of AI.
• Pandemics, as misinformation on vaccinations spread and the frozen tundra melts, releasing pathogens never seen by humans.
• Nuclear war.
Addressing the point made at left, is there any scenario in which world governments agree to cooperate so as to stave off the end of an organized society here on Earth? One supposes so, though it sounds far-fetched in today’s world in which the leaders of most of the 200+ sovereign nations are trying so desperately to cling to power.
Obviously, James Carville has been wrong before, but it appears that he’s onto something here.
An ever-increasing number of Americans are realizing that Trump is criminally insane, and is leading this nation to destruction.
It’s a pleasure to see that Dr. Brian Cox has people so popular, having joined the ranks for Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and a few others. This phenomenon of celebrity physicists if one of very few bright spots in our modern world.
I would qualify what he says at left as follows: the only people who hate the economics here are those invested in fossil fuels. Clean energy and transportation are already huge industries, and they’re growing at an amazing pace–even in the face of heavy suppression by Big Oil and Donald Trump.
-
Greenhouse Gases7 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Climate Change7 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change Videos2 years ago
The toxic gas flares fuelling Nigeria’s climate change – BBC News
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Renewable Energy5 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?