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‘We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2023
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That's the thing, the way governance is supposed to work, is people vote, establish governance, and the governance does all this work. It is literally what they're paid for. If we expect the citizens to do 100% of the work, and their own jobs, we might as well just abolish the entire US government and just govern by some kind of absolute democracy Reddit upvote system.
To the vote every year point, it doesn't work anyways because all the choices are shit and just looking out for their own interests. One can't vote for a magic candidate that doesn't exist. Every billionaire and their corporations makes sure to broadcast constant streams of information at the general population to keep them confused and spending money. Android vs iPhone instead of, "why can't I change my own battery?" Ford vs Tesla instead of, "do I even need a car?" Shitty medical care to ensure that we live in constant fear that our next injury might mean losing our home and living on the street.
Don't try to pass blame onto the citizens of a nation that ensures the citizenry too busy trying to survive to micro-manage everything.
Unfortunately that's a rather idealised view of the way American politics work. In reality, we already know from long experience that American politico-capitalism runs towards exploitation and greed when left to its own devices, as we saw with the monopolies, the robber barons, the horrific exploitation of immigrant labor as seen in the meatpacking industry and mining fields, etc, etc.
Yes, I do hear what you're saying, but reality is reality. However the system was 'supposed' to work as an ideal, in fact it left us in a horrible situation, one in which the primary difference makers were ourselves. Let's also not forget that if the system is 'rigged' the way it is, and we carelessly buy in to it ourselves as consumers, then not only are we failing to hold politicians accountable, but we're also the ones cooperating in feeding the impending catastrophe of unsustainability... across a range of issues stacked on top of CC.
There's also the fact that with America endorsing a pro-big business / wealthy scoundrel such as Nixon, leading to an even worse scoundrel in Reagan, and then failing to recognise the wheels in motion resultant from all that in the 50+yrs since, why then, there's another way the body of American people have essentially failed to make a critical difference.