This is an “aspirational” page. Meaning: somewhere to vent, when i feel i must. Don’t expect it to be soon, or regular. But i’m working on it….

Reality Bites – 20/9/24

The world is not descending into madness. It already has.

Israel commits war crimes on a daily basis – perhaps the most alarming the explosion of electronic communication devices in “enemy” hands – and no-one so much as blinks as they pass the ammunition.

Donald Trump is madness personified, a demented debauched and deeply dangerous despot whom any sane society would certify – yet he stands a fair chance of (again) becoming president of the USA, the most powerful country on Earth.

The third world war has already started in the fight for Ukraine, with both sides seemingly happy to gradually escalate it until it ramps up out of control.

Polar and glacier ice is melting into the sea at an exponential rate while wildfires floods and hurricanes increase in frequency and intensity, yet fools still deny rationality by treating climate change as if it’s something they can turn off when they choose.

The “lungs of the earth”, our rainforests, are bulldozed for beef while the oceans are stripped of fish and smothered in plastic and carbon.

And on, and on, and on.

What are we all doing in response?

Buying the latest gadget, ogling the newest “celebrity”, arguing via social media about the best way to groom a cat. Wow, go world.

Debate over, right? We’re mad, and we know it – even if we refuse to admit it.

We’re mad because otherwise we would be shooting the bankers, crushing the weapons, banning petrochemicals.

We would be reallocating land, relocating coastal cities, reforming around self-reliant agrarian communities.

Ooh, you’ve gone a step too far there.

How’s that? You want to die?

See, there’s the nub of it: solutions exist, but they’re in the too-hard basket because they require huge social change. The end of capitalism just for starters!

And that frightens the daylights out of people more than the end of human life does.

Madness. To accept death because sustaining life requires a mind-set change. Madness.

At this point you’d have to say the race deserves its fate.

So, swill that cocktail, race that supercar, order that new TV… or, if you’re not in the ten percent who can afford such luxuries, die in abject poverty without a whimper while consoling yourself you’re at least supplying the fortunate ones to enjoy a bit of fun.

Yep, that’s the price. A little bit of fun for some, and we’re done.

Talk about shallow. But we never were much good at self-critique, were we? Too hard.