Right now we are in a countdown to the Super Bowl. Yes, the conference championship games have yet to be played. And yet, in less than 3 weeks will be the Super Bowl.
Events like the Super Bowl act the same as eating comfort food does. Despite what is going on around us, events like the Super Bowl give us a reassurance that nothing else gives. Such events tell us that despite our problems, things will be ok.
However, we should note some of the other countdowns that events like the Super Bowl is making obscure if not invisible to our psyches.
Of course we have the countdown until we can no longer mitigate the effects of the short-term and longterm damage the that we are doing to the environment. As Occupy Wallstreet's Declaration Of The Occupation Of New York City stated (click here for the source), Wall Street has kept dependent on oil and the world's use of fossil fuels, especially that of the developed nations, is creating an ever more real than just potential irreversible climate change that will put many at risk because of the rising sea levels and the extremes in weather.
But that is the future, the present includes our food supply with the pollution that is emitted into the environment. Plastic microfibers have been found in most of the world's drinking water supply and in the soil where we grow our food. Along with that, some harmful chemicals and plastic fibers are being absorbed into the body including our blood (previous source and click here for another source).
Then there is the use of nuclear weapons countdown. Back in the 1950s, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein wrote a manifesto that, of those who signed, a high percentage of Nobel laureates endorsed (click here for the manifesto). In that manifesto, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein emphatically wrote that we have a choice between continuing to rely on using war or existing as a species. And what do we continue to see in the world around us? Is it not the reliance on the rule of force whether is from powerful nations invading or threatening to invade weaker neighbors or other nations or is it not the use of force to occupy a people? Add to that the previously unprecedented threat made by Putin that he would consider using nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine. And his threat was not just isolated to using those weapons on Ukraine itself, but on others who provided too much help to Ukraine. In addition, we have a new nuclear arms race with Russia and there are questions as to whether Putin recognizes the MAD reality.
We have countdowns like how long will people peacefully live in nations where there are multiple decades of growing wealth and income disparities. The continued growth in those disparities can threaten any nation's security.
In addition, how long will people live peacefully in nations where we have continued systemic racism?
In the US, a number of people, including some on the Left, are worried about how long can the nation survive a growing National Debt for our economy collapses. History shows that a nation cannot forever depend on relying on the printing of money to enable government spending.
And for many middle and lower class people, how long can they continue to live with an ever growing inflation.
The above gives only a partial list of countdowns that are facing our nation and/or the world. And one reason why seem unaffected by those countdowns is because we are distracted by worlds that do not matter. That is especially true regarding the worlds created by the varied forms of entertainment.
It's not that we shouldn't pay any attention to sporting events or other forms of entertainment. It is that there we should not make it an either-or choice between enjoying those worlds that don't matter and responding to the actual world we live in.
And so we have numerous countdowns that are going on simultaneously. Some of the events that start once those countdowns finish will have no effect on us and will quickly be forgotten. Those are our entertainment events. But events, like the ones listed above, may now only seem like some storm clouds on the horizon, but we would be foolish to believe that on the horizon is where they will stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment