Josh, I read this again! A couple of additional thoughts:
First, the nearest college town to me is 20 minutes south in the same county. My husband and I only go there for the most crucial needs (which are few, now that I no longer go to school there!). But we have heard a lot of recent reports from friends and clients that this town is doing absolutely insane things with its downtown streets, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes, basically the downtown UNDRIVABLE. Yep, it's being transformed into a 15-minute hell-hole.
Second, the US government has been limiting our access to OUR PLANET for over a century. It is my current comprehension that the "national parks" system (which then spawned state, county, and local park systems) was really designed to *cordon off* our land and make us PAY to access it! These sequestered regions also include "natural preserves," "nature conservancies," and "ecological and historical preservations." What fine fuckery is that!
My husband and I have a truck and small travel trailer which we use to take a long trip each year to visit family and friends throughout the continental US. (They do not want to visit us in California, which is very sad because this state is amazingly beautiful despite the political shit-show). But I digress.
Across the miles, we see zillions of acres of forests, wide open plains, plus countless lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds: Our Creator-given natural resources. Yet the "officials" and "experts" tell us that "wood and water and land are scarce" and so prices go up and up and up! THEY do not own the resources, but they have manipulated human consciousness so severely over more than a century that we've come to believe it's okay for a corporation or a government (same thing, I suppose) to buy up — or simply TAKE — the resources and then sell them to us! It's maddening to the core of my being!
I hear you, Sharine. Here in Canada, governments speak of selling off scenic parks and even beaches to private companies. Or, more subtly, to give them the right to "manage" them. Bear in mind, these are some of the most gorgeous natural areas in the country (or on the planet)! The ridiculous rationale is because it's too expensive for government to "upkeep" these areas. Can you imagine the gall? How much fucking upkeep is there required at a beach? We know how it works: First, there will be entry fees (to cover the cost of "upkeep"); these fees will be increased until it's too expensive to go there; and, finally, they'll tell us (in some Page 8 news story) that the property has been privatized altogether, with plans for a fancy (or even private) resort. It makes me sick!
Excellent piece, Josh! Much of this "climate crisis" BS is certainly already happening in the US and, quite specifically, here in my beautiful state of California. These psychopathic predators have GOT TO GO.
Thank you for your kind feedback, Sharine. You are absolutely right: these psycho predators have to go! (BTW, that's a good term to describe them. To call them "elites" is just wrong.)
Josh, I read this again! A couple of additional thoughts:
First, the nearest college town to me is 20 minutes south in the same county. My husband and I only go there for the most crucial needs (which are few, now that I no longer go to school there!). But we have heard a lot of recent reports from friends and clients that this town is doing absolutely insane things with its downtown streets, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes, basically the downtown UNDRIVABLE. Yep, it's being transformed into a 15-minute hell-hole.
Second, the US government has been limiting our access to OUR PLANET for over a century. It is my current comprehension that the "national parks" system (which then spawned state, county, and local park systems) was really designed to *cordon off* our land and make us PAY to access it! These sequestered regions also include "natural preserves," "nature conservancies," and "ecological and historical preservations." What fine fuckery is that!
My husband and I have a truck and small travel trailer which we use to take a long trip each year to visit family and friends throughout the continental US. (They do not want to visit us in California, which is very sad because this state is amazingly beautiful despite the political shit-show). But I digress.
Across the miles, we see zillions of acres of forests, wide open plains, plus countless lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds: Our Creator-given natural resources. Yet the "officials" and "experts" tell us that "wood and water and land are scarce" and so prices go up and up and up! THEY do not own the resources, but they have manipulated human consciousness so severely over more than a century that we've come to believe it's okay for a corporation or a government (same thing, I suppose) to buy up — or simply TAKE — the resources and then sell them to us! It's maddening to the core of my being!
I hear you, Sharine. Here in Canada, governments speak of selling off scenic parks and even beaches to private companies. Or, more subtly, to give them the right to "manage" them. Bear in mind, these are some of the most gorgeous natural areas in the country (or on the planet)! The ridiculous rationale is because it's too expensive for government to "upkeep" these areas. Can you imagine the gall? How much fucking upkeep is there required at a beach? We know how it works: First, there will be entry fees (to cover the cost of "upkeep"); these fees will be increased until it's too expensive to go there; and, finally, they'll tell us (in some Page 8 news story) that the property has been privatized altogether, with plans for a fancy (or even private) resort. It makes me sick!
Just who the fuck do these people think they are?
They think they are capital-G Gods who are more powerful than the Great Creator of Live and Love.
And it is soul-searing to think that most people agree!
Excellent piece, Josh! Much of this "climate crisis" BS is certainly already happening in the US and, quite specifically, here in my beautiful state of California. These psychopathic predators have GOT TO GO.
Thank you for your kind feedback, Sharine. You are absolutely right: these psycho predators have to go! (BTW, that's a good term to describe them. To call them "elites" is just wrong.)
Indeed. The language we choose/use is vital to dismantling their flimsy veils of fuckery!