Or is it only human nature to think so?
- A Scientific American piece about the denial of reality. Maybe the evidence suggests we *are* living in the worst of times.
- Short pieces about MAGA infighting and accusations, economists warning about Trump’s policies, FRC about their privilege, casual Republican threats of violence, unintended consequences of the Texas abortion ban, and a GOP candidate (who lost yesterday) apparently living in the 14th century.
Scientific American, Marianne Cooper & Maxim Voronov, 18 Jun 2024: We’ve Hit Peak Denial. Here’s Why We Can’t Turn Away From Reality, subtitled “We are living through a terrible time in humanity. Here’s why we tend to stick our heads in the sand and why we need to pull them out, fast”
Well… I’m beginning to think that *every* age thinks it’s living at some worst possible moment of human existence. (And there’s a perverse sense in which the religious zealots *welcome* living in the end times, since that makes them feel special.) Yet the writers here make a good case, especially given the current political polarization (in the US at least) and the spread of misinformation via social media (though some will point out conspiracy theories have been floated for a hundred years or more).
Last year was the hottest ever and recorded the highest number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. Not to mention that over the past few years, mass shootings have significantly increased, we’ve seen unparalleled attacks on democracy and science, and mental health issues have skyrocketed.
Truth be told, things were bananas even before the pandemic: just think of the Great Recession, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, and Brexit. Academics use terms like “polycrisis” and “postnormal times” to describe the breadth and scale of the issues we now face.
Welcome to the new normal, an age where many things that we used to deem unusual or unacceptable have become just what we live with. Concerningly, though, “living with it” means tolerating greater suffering and instability than we used to, often without fully noticing or talking about it. When authorities tell us to “resume normal activities” after an on-campus shooting or give guidance on how to increase our heat tolerance in an ever-hotter world, we may sense that something is awry even as we go along with it.
Human nature doesn’t change, but circumstances and knowledge do. The current problem is with those people who refuse to acknowledge changing circumstances, and new information, and as those things accelerate, maybe the problem really is getting worse and worse. And those people are the conservatives.
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Short items.
• For some, Trump isn’t kooky enough. Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 25 Jun 2024: From Virginia to Colorado, MAGA infighting during primaries puts the GOP into disarray, subtitled “Far-right Republicans in Arizona threaten revolt against Donald Trump for being too ‘deep state'”. My take: there have always been such crackpots. They’re just getting more attention in today’s saturated media landscape.
• Yet another example of how Republicans don’t need evidence to make accusations. AlterNet, Alex Henderson, 26 Jun 2024: How a ‘baseless’ Biden conspiracy theory took off in right-wing media
• Axios, 25 Jun 2024: Scoop: 16 Nobel economists see a Trump inflation bomb. But neither Trump nor his fans believe in expertise.
• Joe.My.God, about the Family Research Council again: Hate Group Declares Victory Over Pride Month: It’s Been A Long Time Since Straights Could “Enjoy June”. Does he have the slightest clue about how non-Christians feel about living in a Christian-saturated culture *every* month, *every* year? No.
• Yet another offhand threat of violence by the right. AlterNet, 25 Jun 2024: ‘I would lynch him’: Arizona GOP leader threatened to murder top election official
• Did they anticipate this? No. NBC News, 24 Jun 2024: Texas abortion ban linked to 13% increase in infant and newborn deaths: “This might foreshadow what is happening in other states,” said Johns Hopkins public health researcher Alison Gemmill. “Texas is basically a year ahead.”
• Is he living in the 14th century? Joe.My.God, 24 Jun 2024: “Death To LGBTQs” House Candidate: “Satanic Forces Are Taking Over Schools With Drag Queen Story Hours”. He lost his runoff election yesterday, though not by much.
