The Dumbing Down of America
by John Lawrence, November 13, 2018
People need to start wrapping their heads around two facts: (1) Climate change is directly responsible for weather disasters like the Paradise fire which killed at least 31 people and destroyed over 7000 houses and (2) the proliferation of guns is directly responsible for the mass murders that are happening on a daily basis. In general businesses and corporations are responsible for the despoliation of the environment because its more profitable for them to dump their waste products in the environment than to dispose of them in a responsible manner. These are called externalities. An externality is a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved.
Whoever thought it was a good idea to use gasoline to power cars and dump its waste product, carbon dioxide into the environment? People should have thought of the consequences of this from the very beginning of automobile production. Henry Ford was a smart guy, but he had no clue that his brainchild would be responsible for altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere and this would lead to sinking cities in New York, Miami, Tokyo and London among other places. He had no idea that his invention would cause massive hurricanes and tornadoes as well as giant rainstorms which would cause flash flooding wiping out towns and cities in a single event.
So today, echoing George W Bush's exhortation to "just go shopping" after the 9/11 tragedy, we have Trump's denial of climate change and as much as saying 'just go out and buy another gas guzzler'. Who cares about the consequences to the environment? We want to live the way our Grandpappy lived and not worry about the environment the way he didn't have to worry about the environment. Americans just want their stuff, and they want it now. They don't worry about their grandchildren.
The educational system is failing if its not concerning itself with two things: global warming or climate change and the consequences of the proliferation of guns which cause about as many deaths each year as do car accidents. Does anyone in America check out the way they do business in other advanced countries where they have recognized climate change and gun proliferation as problems? These societies have gotten much better results not to mention the single payer systems for health care. From the Washington Post:
"For the first time in more than 60 years, firearms and automobiles are killing Americans at an identical rate, according to new mortality data released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2014, the age-adjusted death rate for both firearms (including homicides, suicides and accidental deaths) and motor vehicle events (car crashes, collisions between cars and pedestrians, etc) stood at 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people."
