brainrow

Colorado Jyms is feeling down:

[F]rom time to time the facts seem to stack up and I cannot put a positive spin on the things I see.

1) Oil prices continue to climb which in all likelihood means we have past ‘peak oil’ and there is no more cheap oil for us to drill.

2) Even if there was cheap oil to be found, having a chunk of Antarctica the size of 7 Manhattans drop into the water is a good indication that we have already past the point of easy remedies.

3) The party that is supposed to save the day by a landslide of votes indicating the country is truly ready for change, ready to stop the war in Iraq, to start making real environmental progress cannot find a candidate to run for president.

4) The country is spiraling into a recession.

5) Do I really need to find any more reasons? Climate change, end of cheap oil, recession, no savior to save the day. That pretty much sums it up.

Game over.

I posted a comment on Jyms’ site, and I’ll repeat it here:

I’ve been in this same mood lately, myself. It’s not useful.

It’s true we’re facing serious problems. President Kennedy famously said, “When written in Chinese the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.”

Did you notice how Barack Obama, confronted with embarrassing video of inflammatory remarks by his pastor, didn’t act just to limit the political damage to himself? He confronted danger, and he seized opportunity: he moved the ball down the field on the issue of race in America.

The Democrats have found a candidate to run for president. You’ll see.

This is going to be a tough century here on planet earth. Terrible things are going to happen. Terrible things have happened throughout history, and humans have always found a way to turn crisis into opportunity, and build a new world on the ruins of the old. They don’t wait for a savior to save the day; they step up and save it themselves. Leaders emerge. Years later, they’re remembered as saviors. In the moment, they’re just struggling along with everyone else.

You’re right about “game over,” though. The old game is over. As you said, we’re past the point of easy remedies. All the choices now are tough ones. We can’t afford to play around anymore. There’s work to be done.