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Vote For Better Weather

February 24th, 2011 1 comment

link Bundle up as temperature drops below zero in Metro Vancouver.

It doesn’t really matter how much factual information is available to the public.  Ironically, though we live in a time when freedom and access to information has never been greater, so has the exposure to misinformation. As a result, we have not only more enlightenment, we also have more opportunity to spread stupidity and banality disguised as useful  information.  It’s as if we opened the door to let the dog in and all the rats and insects flooded in as well.

With the explosion of information platforms such as IPads, Smartphones and Social Networking apps, we can all know that Jennifer Aniston has a new hairstyle.  We know that Charlie Sheen goes on the occasional bender.   We can also learn what’s happening on the other side of the world in real time.  For instance, we know that Mohamar Gaddaffi may be at risk of losing his seat on the United Nations human rights council and may drop out of the running for the Nobel Peace prize.  But at least these are all observable events.  They really don’t need anyone to explain what happened.

Sadly, many people don’t consume news and information critically, they swallow it whole without any thought as if it were Flintstones multivitamins.  It’s easy to find these people because when you ask them to elaborate on why they believe what they believe, they parrot the standard talking points lines they’ve been conditioned with from the popular media.  What they are often unable to distinguish however are facts from opinions.  In this day and age, there are those who still think the moon landing was a hoax.  There are those that think that the terrorist acts of 9-11 were inside jobs perpetrated by the U.S. government.  There are those that still think rap music has any redeeming value and is a legitimate art form.

And of course, there are those that still believe two of the biggest fibs ever foisted on the public.  One is old and classic, the other one a relatively new whopper.  Both are related and both are nicely summed up by a comment on a recent snowfall in Victoria, B.C. by an unknown writer in response to the news story in the above link:

“…Sooner or later, people will need to come to grips with the extremes in weather which have taken place worldwide the last decade, due to climate change. I don’t know how much worse things need to be, before a majority of people demand more action from governments…”
Speaking only for myself, when I read drivel like this, which incidentally is common for this part of the world, I want to track this person down and pour the cup of low fat, cappuccino latte which they are probably drinking  onto the unwashed hair of their toque covered head.   This individual manages to combine the old standby bleat of  ‘action from governments’  to fix all ills with the elaborate fiction of global warming.   In this simple utterance, he or she betrays the waste of whatever education they may have received up to this time.  The ludicrous fiction that governments can be relied upon to fix anything, much less the weather, is still somehow implanted in their brain despite ample evidence to the contrary on both issues.   Any and every incidence of extreme weather is evidence of climate change which can be alleviated by governments.  I can’t wait for the day when the global warming nuts have their Milli Vanilli moment.
Think of the reasoning here.  For better, normal weather, whatever that is, we need only elect the right government that will do something about it.  We can imagine the election promises, of more jobs, secure borders and benign weather.  Gee, if only Tyrannosaurus Rex and Pterodactyl  had better leadership back in the day, they could still be roaming the earth today.  Instead they probably pursued non green policies which caused the great ice age and ended in their demise.  Stupid dinosaurs.  Good thing we’ve evolved since then.  Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows for all.  Voting to ensure better weather.  Hmm.  It makes the classic promise of ‘a chicken in every pot’ pretty lame.
Categories: Culture, Politics Tags: , , ,