BY SHARON MARTIN
It’s a common joke in our house when something doesn’t get done: “The owner of this establishment is not responsible.”
The more I see of my fellow humans [and of myself] the more I realize that humans are pretty irresponsible creatures. The term “humanity” doesn’t always have positive connotations. And America hasn’t built a shining city on the hill.
We have contributed to the starvation [a gruesome death] of 85,000 children under the age of five in Yemen. The money earned by our war machine is more important than these children’s lives, so how can we be surprised that the president is unmoved by the premeditated murder of one journalist?
As horrific as all this is, the administration’s willingness to undo any steps toward slowing climate change will contribute to ever greater horror in the next 100 years.
It is impossible for anyone in the state of Florida to believe that climate change isn’t happening, yet here is a man at Mar a Lago who claims that climate change is uncertain. Whether he truly believes this or is just using the uncertainty as a political tool is the only thing uncertain. That so many people in this country do not believe climate change is settled science is testament to the power of mass brainwashing.
Greed and lust for power are the force behind this mass public relations campaign. In fact, oil company scientists were among the first to understand the effects on the climate of burning fossil fuels. And they were the first to adopt a policy of misinformation.
The same policy was adopted in the 2020 presidential campaign. A memo written by a Bush advisor, Frank Lutz, said, “Voters believe that there is no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly. Therefore, you need to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue in the debate.”
To this day, Al Gore is an object of derision in Oklahoma for speaking the truth.
Greed wins, and it is a loss for all of humanity, both the good and the bad of it. Because of war and climate change the number of refugees will only grow. How we treat this planet, how we treat the truth, and how we treat those who must leave their homes depends on what kind of people we are. And it is up to each of us to do what’s right, because in Oklahoma and the U.S., our leaders are not responsible.
– Sharon Martin lives in Oilton, OK and is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer. Her latest book, Not A Prodigal, is available through Barnes and Noble. Her recent children’s book, Froggy Bottom Blues, can be purchased in hardcover or paperback from Doodle and Peck Publishingand in paperback from Amazon.
