I am watching the news on two news channels right now...CNN and MSNBC, and it is an endless procession of horror and terror, both natural and man-made.
The natural horrors are four hurricanes: Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria, all leaving chaos and destruction in their trail.
The man-made terrors and horrors are beyond belief...neo-Nazis marching through towns en masse like their forebears 70 and 80 years before, seeking death to Jews and killing their opponents; “fake news” and “alternative facts” shutting down truth; a heavily-armed national police butchering people and getting away with it; the people they anger reacting by attacking stores, which only creates more chaos; the denial of climate change; efforts to disenfranchise and harm those most in need; a President of the United States who lies, cheats, swindles, and stands before the world’s assembly of peace to declare his intentions to “destroy” another nation, frightening leaders of countries large and small. And through it all, civic discourse in America has been reduced to internet flame wars, often acted out in public.
I just don’t see any hope for humanity. George Orwell was right when he wrote in “1984” that the world’s problems are too big for ordinary people to grasp, and the world gets taken over by cynical, deceitful, self-serving manipulators, who are obsessed with one word: POWER. Getting it, having it, using it, getting more of it. The heady sensation of being able to probe into a man’s innermost thoughts. Being able to glance at his merest eyebrow shift and know whether or not he must be shot. Being able to remove a person from existence and successfully convince everyone who knew them that their memories are false — he never existed in the first place.
Mr. Trump has the curious idea that he can destroy North Korea. And so he can. but what he forgets is that the destruction of North Korea will do little but butcher a lot of North Koreans, South Koreans, Chinese, and Russians, who will suffer the collateral damage — especially if Trump uses his nuclear weapons. North Korea produces very little for the world but propaganda, threats, and pictures of the Kim Il Sung family.
However, a space-burst detonation of a nuclear weapon over the United States will destroy the America with greater efficiency than a single ground burst, as it would shatter our electronic-based economy and defense systems, probably beyond our power to repair.
And the destruction of even one or two American cities (Los Angeles and Seattle) by a North Korean nuclear weapon would have an impact on our nation that could not be measured, ranging from the obliteration of millions of lives to the impact of radioactive fallout on our agriculture.
And anyone who thinks that such a war would stop there is just an academic doing a paper for his post-doctoral fellowship. The survival of the planet would depend on the LEAST stable leader of a nuclear power, and we know who that is. Mankind will be reduced to a minor species on this planet, and likely an extinct one. Certainly mankind will be lobotomized on a colossal scale by the destruction of its cities, resources, centers of learning, and technological tools. We will resemble the medieval period, at best.
The Earth will truly belong to the meek...cockroaches and other survivable insects and small animals.
And nobody seems to be able to do anything to stop this express train. I just don’t see any hope. It’s so bloody pointless.
The image above is one I found on the web. It’s called “The Way Out.” It shows a railroad tunnel. Notice how the track switch is set to turn in the tunnel, and anyone seeking to get through the tunnel to the pleasant and sunlit forest in the distance must make the decision to debark from the train and walk down the tracks. There are no other courses available...the land next to the tracks is full of sharp points, and all the stairs and ladders on the wall cannot be accessed. Further, they lead to sealed doors. The face split by the tunnel is mute, her eyes closed, silent, lacking interest or sympathy.
I think this artwork symbolizes our future as a planet and species.