Tag Archives: climate change

Dueling Dissonance

So, I’m having serious headaches from the cognitive dissonance created in meh wee brain thanks to both side of the ideological aisle.

On the one side, there are the conservatives, who inspired dissonance-related sufferings in my cerebrum when I heard one too many of them on NPR today indicate that the threat of climate change is some big myth and we should stop trying to control carbon levels in the air or protect endangered species and all of that. Where does the cognitive dissonance come in?

Well, a lot of these people will be happy to tell you God has everything in hand and we should stop worrying. After all, God promised not to destroy the Earth again and if the climate changes, it’s simply God’s will and we shouldn’t mess with it.

So, if we should keep our hands off because God has climate under control, why the hell does He need your help trying to derail same-sex marriages and homosexual rights? I mean, if you think He doesn’t need any help with the climate, surely you don’t think a bunch of gays and lesbians are going to pose Him any problems, right?

Therefore, while you’re ignoring our collapsing environment, do us all a favor and stay out of the affairs of consenting adults who happen to be the same sex.

Thanks.

The other half of my dissonance comes from the left…a group who’s been shoving legislated health down our throats for ages. Bad enough that Happy Meals are being banned in San Francisco but now the FDA is going to slap hideous disease-ridden photos on cigarette packs because the Nanny State mentality dictates that smokers still just don’t get it and therefore we’ll shock them into quitting.

First, aside from the fact that I want to see some diseased livers or graphic bloody drunk-driving related action shots on liquor bottles to balance that out…as well as photos of fat-clogged arteries and diseased hearts on potato chip bags…I want to know how my progressive brethren can possibly endure the following dissonant thought:

How can you rail on about how evil it is to flash photos of aborted fetuses in the faces of women seeking to terminate pregnancies, and be in FAVOR of flashing rotting body parts to adults who should be able to choose any damn legal vice they please?

So, on the left and the right: How about both of you get a grip and go back to minding your own damn business.

Public Service Announcement

If you are engaging me in a debate on a topic, do not attempt to counter my opinions with information from a highly partisan or highly ideological organization.

I don’t trust Amnesty International to be fully forthcoming on the positive aspects of incarceration and limits on prisoners’ rights. I am not going to get my facts on birth control risks and societal impact of contraception from the Roman Catholic Church. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) is not going to give me an honest, objective opinion on whether or not fish suffer when we catch them and release them. I don’t get my facts about the value of psychology and mental health medications from the Scientologists. Etcetera.

And, to be more specific to my most recent experience today, do not point me to the NCPA (www.ncpa.org), a conservative/libertarian think tank, for “facts” about global warming (and the “fact” that we have no part in causing it) when I point out that we should be concerned about our human impact on climate change, regardless of whether or not global warming really exists and whether or not humans are fully responsible for it.

Thank you for your cooperation.