When a child asks “why” again and again and again and again, we eventually stop answering. Trying to answer is a thankless task and, at some point, too much patience sends the wrong lesson to the child.
In our society and our civilization, we have spoiled children in positions of power and leadership. We may feel we cannot ignore them — they control major aspects of our lives. On the other hand, if they continue to act like spoiled children and ignore our demands that they grow up, take responsibility and do useful and necessary things, why should we pay attention to them? It’s a waste of time.
Some children are more spoiled than others. Trump and the adherents of Cult 45 are truly on a long tantrum and completely out of touch with reality. Plus they have a serous anger management problem.
The Democrats have a much better grip on reality but still reduce real problems to a political contest. Thus, they recognize — for example — that there is a climate crisis, but don’t take it seriously enough and muddle through a “moderate” policy in the wake of a chemistry and physics reality that doesn’t compromise. They do too little and sometimes even make the problem worse. But without the glee and unreality of the right-wing.
In any case, the status quo of our political and economic systems is hostile to the well-being of the American people and people everywhere. It is a narrow, self-centered monolith built on an unquenchable thirst for money and power and ego. I can’t help but think that underneath it all is a cowardly fear of death on behalf of those “leaders” and a fear of being found out to be merely flawed ordinary people with no special abilities or insights whatsoever.
We have reached the Alice In Wonderland point where it’s obvious that our leaders are the Mad Hatter and children like Greta Thunberg are Alice — the people who clearly see the absurdity. It’s a battle between immature reality-challenged adults vs. smart and sensible children.
Of course, the “adults” attack the messengers (like Thunberg), in large part to draw attention away from their own ongoing failures. Here’s the problem: we let their tactics work. We listen. We respond. We take their “arguments” seriously. We behave as if this was a sensible dialogue. But it isn’t. It’s a conversations with an asylum patient who is certain he’s Napoleon and demands our obedience.
We need to stop listening to the (literally) insane and stand up and make demands. Sure, they won’t be met at first. But make them. Every day and every opportunity. Demand the end to the burning of fossil fuels and demand that every possible resource is dedicated to improving and deploying alternative clean energy. Demand we stop giving the wealthy few control of our government, stop them from making rules beneficial to themselves and harmful to everyone else. We must demand that OUR tax dollars be used to HELP US and not the tax-evading non-working ultra-wealthy losers who sponge off of our labor.
Make noise. And don’t spend a second answering the “arguments” of the insane. Don’t raise the status of their babbling nonsense to that of reasoned debate. Don’t amplify craziness and cruelty by responding to it. Don’t play into the hands of spoiled children.
Ignore it. We need to repeat our reasonable — and urgently necessary — demands. With a doggedness that ultimately won’t be able to be ignored.
