Nations are building up their stockpiles of weapons. The nuclear nations are expanding those arsenals, and threats of nuclear war are flying around, 80 years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And only the super-rich have shelters that can withstand a nuclear war.
Global warming and the accompanying extreme weather events are increasing rapidly. Rather than working together to stop or reverse this, the major countries are engaging in a new arms race that adds to the heating of the planet. It also distracts from desperately needed focus on the environment.
Scientists have been telling us for years that unless we stop adding carbon to the atmosphere, the earth will become uninhabitable. Positive feedback loops are accelerating the process, as snowmelt in the arctic releases carbon rich methane, melting ice decreases the earth's reflectivity so that more solar heat is absorbed, and there are many other examples.
It's very scary.
In the US, Trump is doing his utmost to wrest sovereignty from We the People. His administration is using terror tactics: renditions in the guise of immigration control, arrests of judges and mayors, death threats, job losses. The dystopia described in George Orwell's novel 1984, written in the late 1940's, seems to be coming to America.
Trump's policies seem designed to wreck our chances of recovering some control over the climate. "Drill, baby, drill", dismantle agencies that protect the environment, build up the war machine and urge other countries to do likewise. It's a recipe for enriching the exploiters and disastrous for the American people and for the planet.
Scarier and scarier.
Basically, we are dealing with a spiritual crisis. The worshippers of money are mining the planet's resources, heedless of consequences. Since they mostly control the airwaves and internet, they have managed to brainwash the majority of people into consumerism, a belief that life is about getting and spending.
These exploiters often cloak themselves in religious rhetoric, mostly Christian. In fact, they worship mammon, not the just, loving, life-affirming Creator described in the scriptures.
To quote Jesus: Woe to you, hypocrites!
I don't mean to get preachy, but unless we start to value the old-fashioned virtues- honesty, courage, integrity- more than material goods, we are doomed. Whatever happened to conscience, to common sense, to awe of creation?
Also, we must not let the attractions of, the addictions to, virtual reality overwhelm our sense of physical reality. We must put our attention to survival and how to ensure it, for ourselves and our descendants to the seventh generation.
Some people have given up. Many young people are deciding not to bring children into this mess. Depression is rampant. Most mental health professionals treat only the individual, ignoring social pressures, ignoring spirituality, adding to the confusion.
What to do? How do we overcome fear and strive to save the planet (or rather, life as we know it on the planet).
We must support and celebrate the heroes among us. Not only the whistleblowers, not only the refuseniks, but also those who steadfastly continue to do their jobs for the good of all.
I'm thinking of journalists who continue to tell the truth despite the pressures brought to bear on them. I'm thinking of judges who continue to uphold the law despite the Supreme Court's corruption. I'm thinking of federal employees who did not accept the DOGE kissoff package and keep serving the American public despite reduced staffs and budgets. I'm thinking of elderly entertainers- Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney- who continue to bring sanity and beauty to people as they tour the world.
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