Are We Ready to Take Action Against Climate Change? Hell, NO!

I know. I know. I talk about climate change too much. It’s boring. So here’s my advice. If you’re tired of thinking about this shit, then just scroll your merry way to something that you prefer to read. I won’t be offended. And, I certainly won’t be surprised. The past seven years have pushed me into a much more accepting frame of mind. More and more, I’m beginning to conclude that THIS is as good as it gets.

So, now, I just write about it, like I do about anything that’s on my mind.

It makes me feel better. I don’t have a clue whether it has any effect whatsoever on anyone else. I just keep writing. And, not just on social media. I write nonstop anywhere and everywhere that I find a platform.

There’s been a chain of events over the last seven years that I’ve come to recognize as the “American way”. The “American way” is to argue, fight, refuse to cooperate, complain about EVERYTHING and reject any and all solutions to just about every problem that we’re currently facing.

We’ve been kicking the can down the road for decades.

Whether it’s COVID, our seriously crumbling infrastructures, climate change, universal health care, deeply decaying work world, massive trash problems, pollution, gun violence, drug problems, or a failing educational system, we NEVER fix anything. We haven’t fixed a single thing in years.

Gulp!

We are a decaying, hopelessly dysfunctional country, fat and lecherous, diseased and troubled, rich and pampered. We hate each other and we hate everyone else. We hate. That’s our driving force. We hate everything that defines a society. We hate scientists, professors, teachers, nurses, doctors, hospitals, public schools. We disrespect our natural resources and our own offspring. We shit in our own sandbox and then blame someone else for the stench.

The irony of it all is that I was born in unprecedented times.

No previous era in the history of humankind had achieved such technological wonders, put to rest so many dark superstitions with scientific facts, raised so many people up out of poverty, produced so many creature comforts, and healed so many sick people. We doubled, DOUBLED, the lifespan in many parts of the world in the last eighty years and increased lifespans everywhere. You’d think we’d be amazed and thankful. You’d think that would make us more aware and less destructive.

Hell NO!

So, when I run across articles discussing the odds of whether or not Americans will be able to make the collective decision to work toward solving our climate change challenges, I’m like ….

Hello, NO!

I used to think it was because we WON’T. Now? Well, now I’m beginning to think it’s because we CAN’T. The average Joe and a normal Jill, just aren’t capable of doing what needs to be done. It’ll take someone with enormous charisma to bolster enough enthusiasm to move us to cooperate.

Unfortunately, often those SPECIAL people with an abundance of charisma and passion to move Joe and Jill to some kind of action, turn out to be wanna be dictators. And, when they aren’t self-appointed dictators, they often end up dead, silenced.

So, what are the odds that since we haven’t fixed anything in years that suddenly we’re going to unite behind any meaningful climate change solutions?

Especially if it requires personal sacrifice of ANY kind. We’ve seen how angry and uncooperative people have become with something as simple as wearing a mask during a world pandemic. That was in spite of the death of over 800,000 Americans, too. Worldwide deaths, of course, would never move us as we’re too rich and spoiled to give a shit, really give a shit, about anyone outside our borders. But you’d think the death of our own grandparents, the isolation of American children, the overcrowded hospitals, the suffering of our teachers, doctors, and nurses would have moved us even a little. Nope! We remain uncooperative, hateful, and compassionless, even vengeful.

So, now, I’ve turned my attention away from the masses.

I can’t look at them any longer. They make me feel just as angry as they are and that eats away at my ability to make alternative plans. I need to be clear thinking and realistic to a fault as I head into the next decade. Because it looks like if I want to do something, I’m going to need to rely on well-developed backup plans. I’m going to need to be creative, putting my problem solving skills to the test. Because if we can’t cooperate and fix this mess, and so far we haven’t, then I’m going to need find a way to take care of myself and those close to me.

It’s not what I wished for when I was a kid starting out life with high hopes and great expectations. But it is what it is and to ignore it, to practice toxic positivity and wishful thinking puts me in a precarious position.

America can’t fix things.

We’re stuck. The clock is ticking. The sand in the hour glass is getting thinner and running faster. It does me no good to wait for collective good will like a helpless child. Nobody is going to come to my rescue.

Teresa Roberts is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.