little white truths

One thing that's bothered me for years is that some sections of society persist in making climate change a political issue. As in, only tree-hugging lefties 'believe' in climate change. We're uneducated and gullible apparently, and we've fallen for a hoax.

Now obviously this sentiment doesn't apply to everyone - I know plenty of conservatives who want climate action too - but there's enough junk out there that I feel compelled to add my own voice to the argument. Small as that voice may be. But as one of my dear friends says, sometimes an audience of five is enough.

My aim with this post is to pull in a few issues that mirror climate change in the sense that they have nothing to do with politics (and I think, I hope, that reasonable people will agree with me) - with the goal being to haul the environment out of the political sphere and re-ground it exactly where it needs to be. Which is, you know, on the ground. On the ground, in the sea, in the air. Let's be real here please.

Some of the things I'm about to say may well be uncomfortable or perceived as politically incorrect, but I'm prepared to weather that storm because the climate storm is so much bigger and so much more important that I'll roll with any punches because my kids' futures matter light-years more to me than what others think of me. Baffling I know. 

I also want to state from the outset that my aim with this post is not to unleash a mushroom haze of judgement into the atmosphere (because, let's face it, there's far too much pollution in the atmosphere as it is) - but instead to ask people to pull back their own judgements of others and instead look in the damn mirror. It is my belief that one of the biggest threats of our time is failure to question. Not society, governments and other cultures - we're astoundingly good at questioning those - but failure to question ourselves, our own behaviours. 

I'll just plant that there.

Now let's keep planting. Trees, and reality. I like both.

Dogs. Let's talk about dogs. People love dogs. Whether you're left-wing or right-wing, whether you believe in god or you're an atheist, whether you hate cats or you don't (ha), people across the political, religious and cultural spectrum have dogs and love them. They're part of the family, after all. Beautiful, happy and loyal creatures who want nothing more than food, love and crazy runs around the park. The joyful simplicity of dogs is breathtaking. That's why we love them.

But then we see videos online and hear stories about cruelty to animals, how dogs have been abused and wind up in animal shelters, ready to be put down unless someone rescues them. I know people from all corners of society who own rescue dogs and have told me, with tears in their eyes, the stories behind their pets and how they've been treated by past owners. It's an abomination.

And at the moment, the sheer cruelty of what's happening to countless species across the planet due to the actions of humans - whether it's orangutans losing their habitats, sea creatures choking and dying from plastic in our oceans, species going extinct or facing extinction due to climate change...

ANIMAL CRUELTY IS NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE. 

It's a moral one.

So please don't walk around with your rescue dog, polishing your halo and denying the reality of climate change, meanwhile buying products containing palm oil and eating slabs of meat on the daily so that beautiful, happy and loving creatures like orangutans are now facing extinction as we annihilate their homes. You cannot have it both ways. 

And when the water wars start and you're rationing that precious resource, when your family is dying of thirst before your very eyes, whom do you think you're going to give those last few drops of water to - your dog? No. Your children. 

I'll just plant that there.

Failure to question.

Next up, vaccinations. I came across a climate change denialist the other day who was banging on about anti-vaxxers because, you know, the science behind vaccinations is indisputable. A few days later, an anti-vaxxer on Twitter was banging on about the importance of joining the recent climate strikes - because, you know, we have to listen to the scientists. They know what they’re talking about, after all. 

The sheer hypocrisy would be exquisite, delicious, if these issues weren't so painfully serious.

VACCINATION IS NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE.

It's a moral one.

And what bothers me about the anti-vaxxers is that you're unlikely to see an anti-vaxxer necking a bottle of vodka each day or smoking reams of cigarettes while pregnant. Oh the horror! You can't do that, you might harm your unborn child. The scientific evidence against engaging in such behaviours is crystal clear. But at least if you smoke, drink and do drugs while you're pregnant, you're only putting your own child's health at risk. If you're failing to face the crystal clarity behind vaccinations or climate change, you're putting everyone else's kids at risk too. That's just basic maths.

So please don't walk around demonising the anti-vaxxers and then in the next breath rant lyrical about the stupidity of those socialist / Marxist / tree-hugging / whatever derogatory term you want to assign to those who listen to the climate scientists, who care about the health and safety of future generations, who care about the future of all life in general. You cannot have it both ways.

And if you're an anti-vaxxer or climate change denialist who judges that pregnant woman you see smoking a cigarette, eating sushi or having a glass of wine, you can shove that judgement up your proverbial. You cannot have it both ways.

Failure to question.

Next, let's talk about child abuse. Gosh we're quick to condemn child abusers, child slavery, child labour, paedophiles and - depending on your own culture/religion - those who perform unnecessary cosmetic procedures on newborn babies (be it circumcision or ear-piercing) or religious procedures on young children (female genital mutilation being the obvious example here). 

'It's part of the culture' is an argument I usually hear in such cases - which, let's face it, is not a valid argument when it comes to abusive practices regarding children. I mean, we're not talking about cultural food or music here, are we? Black slavery used to be part of the culture. It's not anymore for a bloody good reason. Give me another argument and I'll hear it, but 'it's part of the culture' doesn't cut it. Period.

And please let's remember who owns the body parts in question. It's the child's face or genitals we're talking about, not yours. It's the same as the vaccination argument. It's your child's health, not yours, and it's not a parent's right to choose whether a child's penis should be 'amended' or whether a child should be given an immunisation that could very well save its life, or the life of a newborn baby who happens to come into contact with it.

CHILD ABUSE IS NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE.

It's a moral one.

So please don't walk around condemning other cultures where child labour is rampant or where female genital mutilation is still occurring on a daily basis, while your own son was circumcised at birth and your newborn daughter has pierced ears when she did not ask to have holes punched in her face only days after the traumatic experience of being born (because, let's face it, childbirth ain't fun for anyone involved). You cannot have it both ways.

And as a mother of a daughter myself, a mother who worries about the social emphasis on female looks, who worries that girls in their twenties are having botox injections, who worries that girls as young as twelve are winding up with eating disorders, who worries that girls as young as six are turning up to birthday parties and saying: 'No Mrs Jones, I won't have a slice of birthday cake. I'm on a diet'... Gosh it breaks my heart to know that the whole 'women MUST be adorned' message is tattooed on little girls' faces at birth all too often. You don't pierce newborn boys' ears, do you? And you don't 'amend' your newborn daughter's labia if you don't like the look of it. But circumcision? That's fine apparently. 

Failure to question.

It's also rather rich to condemn other cultures for what they do to children and then call climate change a hoax while voting for politicians who would rather focus on economic growth than protecting the environment that your kids will inherit. There's no economy without a planet. There are no jobs without a planet. There WILL be wars for resources, however - sooner than you think - and our kids will be facing those. What an abuse of our children's futures. 

What an abuse.

Greta Thunberg put it best when she recently addressed the UN: 'I shouldn't be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean ... How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood.'

Geez I cried. I know I'm not the only one.

That's child abuse.

I think I should probably stop here because I've been frank enough for one day, but I want to say one final thing.

What bothers me about the anti-vaxxers and climate change denialists in particular is that we can't rely on Darwinism here. Because these folks aren't removing themselves from the gene pool - it's far worse than that - they're risking breeding out not only their own children, but other people's children too. Furthermore, climate change denialists are risking breeding out all life entirely. Humans do not have the right to decide what happens to other species. But we do have a responsibility to protect them.

Geez I'd like to see something akin to the Nuremberg Trials happen within the next decade (tomorrow would be preferable, although we can impeach Trump first I suppose), so the culprits are still alive to face them. Climate crimes aren't only crimes against humanity, they're crimes against all life on Earth. They are also crimes against children, who will be inheriting whatever's left behind. If anything.

And yes, they're crimes against dogs. Yeah ok, OK! They're crimes against cats too. 

None of this is about politics. When is everyone going to get that?

Roger out.

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com