Ignorance isn't bliss; it's ignorance! And it's on the rise.
Why? My cynical self says that part of the reason is that people are choosing not to acknowledge what they don't like. Facts, no matter how compelling, are not allowed to get in the way of 'the good life' or 'the comfortable life'.
Examples.
Nine scientists, radicals like meteorological physicists from the state's major universities, gather at Marylhurst for a daylong conference and point out item after item of evidence that global warming is changing our landscape. For example, the Arctic ice sheet this summer lost an area twice the size of Texas. Glaciers are, at best, stable all over North America. Ocean species like abalone off the California coast are being 'eaten alive' by bacteria who survive because the water temperatures are warmer. The list of concrete evidence goes on. Yet there are people who want the debate about global warming to focus on whether we're in a natural cycle or not. Global warming is happening and we have a choice to try to strategize about it or not. America largely seems to buy into 'or not'.
Experts in the oil industry agree that, regardless of other issues, oil production is very close to its peak. After its peak, oil production will decline. Economists agree that the demand for oil, particularly outside the United States, is increasing. These two trends are incompatible. At some point, the lines on the graph intersect and that moment is a moment of crisis for our way of life.
Fewer and fewer Americans can afford to have health care coverage or access to preventative care. The numbers inexorably go down. The social cost behind the scenes- in emergency room visits and people with chronic ailments which are not adequately treated and therefore require massive intervention- goes up. We do nothing to demand that this situation change.
The scourge of Meth? If I recall there are only five labs producing the key pseudophedrine ingredient in the entire world. They are producing a chemical compound that can be replaced by other compounds to make effective cold medecine. The US government (and other governments down the line) are debating controls, prescriptions, etc. etc. as a solution. Given the incredible social costs of this drug and the way it supports drug cartels, I would think that the full weight of American diplomatic and economic pressure would be aimed at a campaign to stop the legal production of the drug completely. But no! That's not the strategy. Why?
I've already stated my feelings on the subject of the 'intelligent design vs. evolution' debate. The fact that non-science can get a hearing to be included in science curricula is astonishing. But the general lack of understanding of the difference, or interest in the difference, is even more frightening.
The television news tends to focus on car chases and heinous murders. But rarely are these the crimes that affect us in our daily lives. White collar crime? It's popular and profitable. Andy Wiederhorn makes millions in jail. The Oregonian reports most white collar embezzlers under $ 100,000 don't do time and don't pay restitution. But the public's attention is on the sensational, not recognizing how much extra we're charged to cover for bank and business losses through higher insurance premiums.
Today's paper says that credit card debt and late payments are steadily on the increase(10-09 American Bankers Assoc). I'm sadly inclined to believe that this too is a byproduct of selective ignorance.
Truth. These things will come back to haunt us.
ignorance
Examples.
Nine scientists, radicals like meteorological physicists from the state's major universities, gather at Marylhurst for a daylong conference and point out item after item of evidence that global warming is changing our landscape. For example, the Arctic ice sheet this summer lost an area twice the size of Texas. Glaciers are, at best, stable all over North America. Ocean species like abalone off the California coast are being 'eaten alive' by bacteria who survive because the water temperatures are warmer. The list of concrete evidence goes on. Yet there are people who want the debate about global warming to focus on whether we're in a natural cycle or not. Global warming is happening and we have a choice to try to strategize about it or not. America largely seems to buy into 'or not'.
Experts in the oil industry agree that, regardless of other issues, oil production is very close to its peak. After its peak, oil production will decline. Economists agree that the demand for oil, particularly outside the United States, is increasing. These two trends are incompatible. At some point, the lines on the graph intersect and that moment is a moment of crisis for our way of life.
Fewer and fewer Americans can afford to have health care coverage or access to preventative care. The numbers inexorably go down. The social cost behind the scenes- in emergency room visits and people with chronic ailments which are not adequately treated and therefore require massive intervention- goes up. We do nothing to demand that this situation change.
The scourge of Meth? If I recall there are only five labs producing the key pseudophedrine ingredient in the entire world. They are producing a chemical compound that can be replaced by other compounds to make effective cold medecine. The US government (and other governments down the line) are debating controls, prescriptions, etc. etc. as a solution. Given the incredible social costs of this drug and the way it supports drug cartels, I would think that the full weight of American diplomatic and economic pressure would be aimed at a campaign to stop the legal production of the drug completely. But no! That's not the strategy. Why?
I've already stated my feelings on the subject of the 'intelligent design vs. evolution' debate. The fact that non-science can get a hearing to be included in science curricula is astonishing. But the general lack of understanding of the difference, or interest in the difference, is even more frightening.
The television news tends to focus on car chases and heinous murders. But rarely are these the crimes that affect us in our daily lives. White collar crime? It's popular and profitable. Andy Wiederhorn makes millions in jail. The Oregonian reports most white collar embezzlers under $ 100,000 don't do time and don't pay restitution. But the public's attention is on the sensational, not recognizing how much extra we're charged to cover for bank and business losses through higher insurance premiums.
Today's paper says that credit card debt and late payments are steadily on the increase(10-09 American Bankers Assoc). I'm sadly inclined to believe that this too is a byproduct of selective ignorance.
Truth. These things will come back to haunt us.
ignorance
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