Spreading the Truth
- Article Published At:
- Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus
- Date of Publication:
- August 7th, 2021
Little by little fragments of truth leak out from the webs of lies. Trump and his Chief of Staff, Gen. John Kelly were in Europe in 2018 for the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. John Kelly was giving Trump an essential history lesson explaining who was on which side, and how the First World War led to the rise of Hitler and the horrors of the Second World War. To the General’s shock, Trump commented that Hitler did a lot of good things for Germany, and helped their economic development in the 1930’s. Indeed the building of the autobahns to transport troops quickly and the massive military investment was an economic boost. Later the massive investment in concentration camps, huge gas ovens and crematoria to slaughter millions efficiently did benefit some companies.
It is now much clearer why Trump admired Adolf Hitler’s concept of the Big Lie, and was so proud to become the Big Liar himself (after 30,000 documented false statements in four years). But as I have commented before, the admiration of Hitler’s Big Lie by the neo-fascist Republican right is a stunning betrayal of American democracy. Of course it is consistent with the re-emergence of white racism from the shadows. These bigots fear having to face up to our racist history, and almost choke on their hatred of non-white citizens, especially women, who are elected to power. But surely Hitler as their fascist hero will be the ruin of the Republican Party?
The other bizarre aspect of the present politics is the worship of Trump by some conservative evangelical groups in a mutual admiration pact. Their racist views do not overlap with the teachings of Jesus and the “Truth that sets you free”, but they can pretend to be Christian by selectively citing the Bible to justify their own power. In Trump however they are worshipping a personification of the lying anti-Christ. This is incomprehensible except through the lens of their racist, anti-Christian past. Perhaps their lying webs will also slip into the dark shadows of history, so that the Truth can shine through.
But when will we really face up to the destruction of the Earth to maintain the profits of the Fossil fuel Empire? This crime of ecocide against the Earth and our children and grandchildren is a hundred times bigger than Hitler’s genocide. As heat waves, drought and fires sweep the west, the public response is only a feeble whisper. The brainwashing by 40 years of lies from the Fossil Empire has triumphed. Society still allows them to claim they are not responsible for the future, even though they have known for 40 years that their business plan and propaganda will kill hundreds of millions and perhaps a third of all life on Earth. But buried in the comfort of consumerism and economic growth fantasies, only a few want to rock the boat.
But we must face the challenge of building a sustainable future for our children, and replace the fossil fuel economy as fast as possible. We must listen to the Earth and shout her Truth at all levels of society, not listen to the lies from the Fossil Empire and bribed politicians. We must make the Fossil Empire pay for the transition they delayed; and pay for the needs of all people for a just transition. The entire banking, financial investment and insurance industries must also divest from the fossil fuel world. Otherwise citizens who grasp the long reality of the climate crisis should peaceably shut these financial institutions down.
The lying politicians should be voted out, whether they are lying about the climate, or the efficacy of vaccines or claiming we need loser Trump as a neo-fascist dictator more than we need democracy. Their lying kills people, now and in the future. In mid-July, Dr. Fauci pointed out that 99.5% of those dying from Covid are now unvaccinated. This is a tragedy driven by lies spread by politicians and by a notorious group of 12 anti-vaccine fanatics, using social media to deceive more than 50 million people.
In the real world, record temperatures, deeper droughts and widespread fires are shaking the western U.S and Canada. The Hoover Dam on the Colorado River was built in the 1930’s to create Lake Mead for water storage and hydroelectric power. The water level has reached a record low, and the water commitments cannot be met. Elsewhere on the planet there are extreme rains, and Europe has been swept by record floods that have killed hundreds and destroyed towns. People protest the forecasts were not good enough. This is foolish, as the Earth is in charge, and global extremes must increase as we are heating up the oceans.
Back here in Vermont there has been unusual weather with many days of clouds, drizzle and rain in June and July. Compared to 2019 and 2020, this has reduced electric generation from our community solar panels by 36% for the period May 19 to July 19. For the first time we are paying a small amount for electricity in summer, rather than getting a credit for next winter.
We have had eleven inches of rain in July, a lot of it at night. This is more than twice the historic climatology. The growth of vegetation and crops has been quite remarkable, although the ripening of tomatoes and squash has been slow.