Regarding the big World-Wide Rally Against Climate Change. Millions of people, and in particular school children (the younger the better) will be marching in order to convince the politicians to enact laws that will stop Climate Change before the world is destroyed.
Why does this strike me as so unhinged?
Me: "So why are you marching?"
Child: "Because the future."
Me: "So there won't be a future if you don't march?"
Child: "I don't know."
Me: "What is wrong with climate change?"
Child: "It's bad."
Me. "Why is it bad?"
Child: "I don't know."
Me: "So why are you marching?"
Teen: "To tell the politicians to stop ruining the planet."
Me: "How do you expect them to do that?"
Teen: "They can tell the corporations to go Green and stop polluting."
Me: "How much will that cost?"
Teen: "I have no idea, but whatever. The future is at stake."
Me: "How do you know that?"
Teen: "The science. Just read the science."
Me: "Do you understand the science, actually?"
Teen: "Not really. But the scientists all agree. Climate Change is destroying the world."
Note: This is the actual hinge of the argument. That the scientists agree that Climate Change is destroying the world. More specifically, that Anthropocentric Climate Change is destroying the world. Meaning that mankind can and must stop it, because mankind is causing it.
Me: "But hasn't climate changed since the beginning of the world?"
Teen: "Of course, but we're ruining the world and we have to stop it."
Me: "So you're saying that humans are causing THIS Climate Change, and because we're causing it we can stop it?"
Teen: "Yeah, exactly."
Me: "How do you know we are causing it, and not, say, changes in the temperature of the sun?"
Teen: "Its pretty obvious."
Me: "So you can just tell?"
Teen: "Yeah, and the science is out."
Me. "So all the scientists agree on this?"
Teen: "Not sure, but most of them do, at least."
Me: "Do you know what percent do vs. don't agree?"
Teen: "Nope. Don't care. The one's that don't agree are wrong anyway."
Me: "How do you know?"
Teen: "It's obvious."
Me: "When did it become obvious to you?"
Teen: "Like when I was eight or nine, I think."
Me: "What convinced you?"
Teen: "We saw a lot of pictures and videos in school about it. The environment is hosed, dude."
Note: The teachers have been telling eight and nine year olds for decades various (and changing) messages about how mankind is destroying the planet. In the 70's it was Global Cooling. In the 80's and 90's it was Global Warming. Now it is Climate Change. Same message. Same scary pictures and videos.
Me: "So this gave you the knowledge you need to decide that man-made Climate Change is destroying the world?"
Teen: "That and the science which backs it up, yeah."
Me: "You know that science doesn't work that way?"
Teen: "What do you mean?"
Me: "Science, or can I say Reality, isn't governed by consensus. Scientists don't vote on what reality is. They have theories, and those theories often change as experimentation reveals the flaws in the theories. That's been going on continuously since the beginning of Science, and is still going on."
Teen: "Yeah, ok, I hear ya. But still, most scientists agree on Climate Change."
Note: The basis on which the March is being conducted has a deep flaw. People believe the politicians on the left who claim that "the Science is out", and "the debate is over"... when the science is NEVER out, and the debate is NEVER over. New facts come to light, and change the theories all the time. But the politicians ignore that, and tell everyone below them to ignore that. Which they do. And then we get huge politically motivated Marches by people who believe, but don't really understand. A kind of worst case scenario in my opinion. In other words, the leftist Politicians have summoned The Mob, and are using it to coerce their political opponents to capitulate to their demands.
But what are those demands? And why?
Me: "So we need to stop Climate Change by going Green... but you don't know how much that will cost, yes?"
Teen: "Who cares how much it will cost? This is important for the earth."
Me: "So you keep saying. But what if the cost is so great that afterwards you wouldn't be able to pay for it?"
Teen: "Well, the government will pay for it."
Me: "Where does the Government get the money?"
Teen: "They print it."
Me: "If they just print the money, then why do people have to pay taxes?"
Teen: "I don't know."
Me: "When you work, you pay taxes. When you buy things you also pay taxes. That money is used to fund government programs. So when it comes to going Green... you are paying for it."
Teen: "Ok. Well, anyway, they will make the Corporations pay for it."
Me: "Where do the Corporations get their money?"
Teen: "Um ... ok. So whatever. It's the earth. So what? We have to save the earth."
Me: "Can we save the earth from climate change?"
Teen: "Of course. If we try hard enough."
This level of stupid can not be blamed entirely on the kids. They are being told that protesting is going to save the earth because Corporations, and in particular Republicans, are evil and need to be stopped or the earth will be destroyed. Meanwhile, the kids never stop to ask themselves, and this is where they are culpable, "What if the democrats are just lying about Republicans because they want all the power? What if Socialism really does end up like Maoist China and Soviet Russia, with concentration camps, mass starvation, and all that is actually evil in the world? What if this is all really the Democrats just trying to get us to hate and destroy Republicans, and the Republic, so that they can establish an Orwellian IngSoc government that ultimately will not only crush me and my family and our future, but still nevertheless destroy the earth - and more swiftly and more surely than anyone else ever could?"
It is the failure to ask these questions that is at fault among the kids of today. If they only took a look around, they might just see that. But so far, nope. No clue.
But through it all and given all of the ambiguities involved, one thing is certain. This is Darth Vendor's doing. Fo Shizzle.
