But, what do we see if we ask the ghost of filth past to draw us a picture of New Yorkers circa 1963? No city in America was as liberal as New York, nor as disconnected from fundamentalism. The fashion capitol of America, no city was more conscious of la mode. These were not rubes or hicks, but the avant-garde. Yet, these dapper doyens of sophistication never realized that they were as responsible for the unsanitary situation as if they had pulled down their trendy trousers and gone on the sidewalks themselves.
Just as New Yorkers couldn't hear what the do-gooding ladies of society were saying then, those today that deny they are causing global warming simply can't hear what is being said. It's a case of kill the messenger.
In today's society, so pettied by partisan perversion, the source is the message. The medium for disseminating the facts about global warming is one on which substantial segments of our society have long since pushed the "mute button. For those of our brothers and sisters living within the "story , the Great Satan is credentialed elitism. Any argument which betrays that a stream of thought has its headwaters there is worse than useless.
To begin with, lose the term "global ; it simply reeks of foreign and internationalist conspiracies. Then, crypto-scientific jargon has to go. "Pollution is bad enough; do you actually think anyone knows what "anthropogenic means? Ten thousand Al Gores describing the Van Der Wals effect will not gain a single convert. Forget about "greenhouse gases and don't mention hydroflurocarbons or perflourocarbons. These are the words of baby-faced grads fresh from the academy, speaking to the tanned and grizzled people who live on the land (Or imagine they do), and barely have time to snicker after they perceive that they are being lectured by someone that "doesn't even shave everyday . If you have something to say to these folks, you have to tell it like it is in everyday language that everyone understands.
Just tell them that they're dirty people. Tell them that they're just as piggy as New Yorkers. That's outside their "story", and will definitely get their attention.
After all, what really is the problem? In plain language it's us: We're Filthy. What is in the air is just litter, just like any other litter- even if we can't "see it. Its trash and excrement; the same plain old garbage that has plagued our settlements since before history began.
Surely, you say, the millenniums of progress have improved the species, we have left living in our own mess behind. Those piggy dog-walkers of the twentieth century, and the Neolithic primitives they evolved from, are ancient history. Science and technology distinguish us from them and the other lower forms.
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