Photo by Nick Chong on Unsplash

🔊 Listen to This Story

We all know the narrative — people will revolt and there will be violence in the streets if we stop using fossil fuels. We must have plentiful and cheap gas even at the cost of a habitable Earth. (It is, of course, just a coincidence that the wealthy and powerful people make their money from fossil fuels.)

What about crushing working people with job-killing interest rates to try and reduce inflation? Well, that’s just austerity. Hey, that’s the kind of suffering that builds character. (It’s just a coincidence that high interest rates reduces employment and wages. You know, the labor market is “overheated” — which means working people are in danger of getting paid better.)

These lies are getting pretty old. We’ve been told this nonsense repeatedly for decades. They are clearly excuses for unworthy politicians who serve the rich to hold political power and to protect the oil stained billionaires who finance those politicians. It is not and never has been about the well-being of ordinary Americans.

Remember, when Wall Street destroyed the economy with massive fraud in 2008–9, politicians not only rescued Wall Street. They also used OUR TAX DOLLARS to give huge bonuses to the CEOs and executives who were responsible.

Very rich people — who produce nothing and set policy using the politicians they finance — they never practice austerity. They live high off of your labor and taxes. They don’t do productive work and they evade taxes. They are moochers.

Hey rich people! Get a real job! Do something of value.

What If We Stop Accepting?

One of the biggest problems, and why our problems are so stubborn is that WE don’t control the conversation. We let big media decide what’s acceptable and what isn’t acceptable to talk about. Media doesn’t just cover stories: it DECIDES what we talk about. Whether it’s “the slap” or Putin or inflation or whatever, WE seem to dutifully follow their lead.

But we don’t need to. We can decide. Right now, reality is beginning to break through, and the establishment’s narrative is shredding. Climate collapse is proving to be difficult to soft-peddle. Let’s take this opportunity to change the narrative completely, to help reality break through completely.

Things We Know

We know that majority rule is a fiction. We have two presidents in the 21st century who were rejected by the majority of voters. We know that our politicians are financed by wealthy people and that their policies reflect this. Even the establishment acknowledges — but de-emphasizes — K Street and the dirty money that floods our political system.

Of course, this bribery has been ratified by the courts as “free speech” and the source of these funds is usually well hidden. Why? Because it is shameful. If it wasn’t repulsive, the rich wouldn’t hide their bribes. They want you to believe their excuses for greed are simply popular opinions.

Similarly, the wealthy try to conceal their propaganda campaigns by pretending they are popular movements. Influence peddling is rampant. And very successful.

Crumbs Coming Our Way

In recent years, ordinary Americans have received some help from their government. This isn’t a sign of successful representative government. It’s a sign of fear by the establishment. Perhaps it was Occupy or The Great Resignation. Who knows? But the rich and THEIR representatives in government are throwing crumbs our way because they fear revolt.

They are losing control. They can’t stop climate collapse with PR. They worry that excessive profiteering on, say, insulin which is needed by millions of Americans to simply stay alive, may backfire and spark a serious backlash.

So, we’ve received a bit of money and a bit of relief in recent years. This is what the people in power believe is the minimum necessary to preserve their own positions and power. We must take control of the conversation and set the terms. We must not merely accept their crumbs and remain silent.

The Extent of the Crisis

It’s not that unusual for the wealthy to take advantage of everyone else. But we’ve reached a new level that is different not only in the size of the abuse, but the nature of it.

The minimum requirement of any set of authorities (economic, political, whatever — the decision-makers) is to hand over a habitable planet to the next generation. Current leaders are failing catastrophically to clear even this low bar.

For this reason, we must demand immediate and uncompromising action to stabilize the climate — or that leaders everywhere step down. It’s all or nothing because chemistry and physics and Nature do not compromise.

In A Climate Declaration, I have been proposing that young climate activists be put in charge, worldwide. Only the young have the moral standing to lead. It’s THEIR planet that current leaders are destroying. Only the young can be fully trusted not to make excuses, not to kick the can further down the road. Because there is NO MORE ROAD LEFT.

Please read and share A Climate Declaration. Speak out. Speak truth to power. Make demands. Take control. Don’t give up in advance. We CAN do this.

Thanks for reading.