The World Doesn't Always Go On

A celebrity loses her mind, and posts a photo that is way beyond any measure of good taste, disgusting and despicable.  She is rightly condemned, and she loses her position at a major media corporation.  What she did is, sadly, not an isolated incident.  Horrible statements and photos appear all across both sides of the partisan divide, and one act never justifies another.  We all pray for a greater civility and respect in our culture.  Things can be corrected.  The world goes on.

We are in the process of shredding our social safety net, with huge cuts in programs that benefit the average American.  Health care, Medicaid, Medicare, Meals on Wheels, public education, environmental protections, and even Social Security (particularly the Disability portion) are all being considered for massive cuts, or even elimination. Although the resistance to these changes will be greater than some suspect, these and other domestic programs are under siege and will likely see substantial changes.  But what one group of politicians take away, another group can restore later.  The world goes on.

Our democratic institutions are under severe stress, as there may have been collusion between a political campaign and a hostile foreign power.  But we should not lose hope.  There is now a special Prosecutor, and the free press has not yet been dismantled.  I have faith that the truth will be revealed, and that patriots on both sides of the partisan divide will come together to resolve the problem in the best interests of the United States of America.  The world goes on.

President Trump, in his infinite lack of wisdom, withdraws our country from the Paris Climate Accords.  The idea, I guess, is to put America First, and to double down on the fossil fuels that are causing climate change.  In this case, the world doesn't go on.

At least, it doesn't go on in any recognizable way.  The likelihood of worst case scenarios, as projected by the overwhelming body of scientists and scientific evidence, becomes almost a virtual lock if the United States government turns it back on it.  The worst case scenario is that, within the next generation or two, large swaths of the Earth will become uninhabitable, and there will be hundreds of millions of climate refugees  It will make the few thousand Syrian refugees we were afraid of look like a grain of sand on an infinite beach.  The best case scenario is that other countries ignore us and find green solutions and alternative energies that mitigate the extremity of damage we could face.  Of course, that leaves the United States as a declining and irrelevant power, and out of the loop for the green economy to come.  But that is the choice our President has made.  America First will become America Last.

There are still signs of hope.  Many states, municipalities and even corporations are turning their backs on the President's withdrawal, and forming a kind of Climate Rebel Alliance.  Lacking federal support will hurt immensely, but not surrendering shows courage and the vital importance of moving ahead, whatever the obstacles.

The world doesn't always go on.  It may be easier to break than some people think.  But you have to hope and pray that more wake up to their mission, as spoken of in many of the great faiths, to be good stewards of this fragile planet.