Just in the last few years I have found myself growing quite weary of many things such as politics, religion and so on. After 50-odd years of seeing the same old tired arguments back and forth I have come to the conclusion that frankly, people are gullible, silly or both. I know how arrogant that sounds but I really don’t know how else to say it. Politicians and religious zealots are very clever and use tried and tested methods to disseminate their divisive and hate-filled rhetoric to a willing audience of people who propagate it without so much as a thought – myself included at times. I haven’t voted in years and I don’t think I will ever bother to do so again. Apathy has set in.
I work in commodity markets analyzing the various software packages and technologies out there. I need to stay up to speed with all the latest in terms of commodities news, trading technologies and entities, regulations and so on. It is an incredibly complex industry but it is one that in recent years as prices have gone up, the politicians have targeted along with various consumer groups. You know, none of us like higher prices for food and energy but some of the stuff I have read about manipulation, speculation, greed and so on is so silly, so utterly devoid of truth, so simplistic and lacking any insight into the business that it makes me ill. Yes, it makes me sick. It is so ridiculous and so counter productive and so pervasive it simply makes me ill thinking about it.
Same thing with this global warming stuff or whatever sophisticated name they are giving it these days. The propaganda issued forth on this topic and the fear and uncertainty and doubt it creates makes me ill too. It has got so bad that it is now routine to hear CO2 called a pollutant in the media and even on the street. This is so upside down and back to front that I cannot, simply cannot fathom why anyone who for a second stopped to think would fall for it? But people do. For some its a religion and a mantra to the point they would rather eliminate humanity to preserve the Earth from us. There is this unrelenting focus on the oil industry or the energy industry and how bad it is and full of greed and … well basically much the same story for commodity markets really. This is an industry that creates jobs – good jobs, pushes science and technology and finds and produces natural resources for not just energy but almost everything we all take for granted. People forget I think that plastics, for example, are an oil product. What would life be without plastic?
Some of the other brain dead arguments are that the science is proven (philosophically impossible), that climate scientists say this is the truth therefore it must be (what is a climate scientist? Do they really understand statistics, archeology or geology? (the answer to that is as follows – no, no and no), where is the so called science we are told exists? (temperature curves are a form of statistics, show me one version and I will show you 10 others with the same data – all different). Where is the logic? If the Earth has had ice ages with CO2 levels 10 times of those today don’t we have a logic problem with the argument that 30ppm extra CO2 today causes an extinction event due to massive warming? I think so.
If you try to engage yourself in constructive debate on any of these topics these days what we get back is abuse. There is no debate to be had anymore so people resort to abuse. In the recent Scottish Independence thing, I discovered something else that made me ill. It was that many Scots, whether they know it or not, are racist – yes, anti-English racists. They have no sense of humour and God help us if an English person pokes fun at Scotland…….Hang on a minute. Why? We are talking about an imaginary man-made border here between people that last time I examined pooped and peed the same way and had the same basic needs and yet, we allow ourselves to be hijacked by people who use hate to divide us. I had one good friend tell me his ancestors were cleared off their land to make way for sheep by the English. I see. Well, so were mine in Yorkshire. I don’t have a chip on my shoulder about it why the hell do you? Did they do this to you then or what? And, who are we talking about anyway – what English? The norman french ones? Utter codswallop. Really. Makes me ill to think people are like this.
I am trying to not read news sites – it is a tad easier when you live in a country with a different language that you are not so proficient in. But it is making me ill. I am trying not to take things too seriously but even people that I know well and respect fall for the most basic of hate-riddled garbage at times… it is hard to avoid. If I didn’t have family I think I would try to find a place to go to get away from it all – a remote place somewhere.
Meanwhile, I have lost faith in humanity. That is not a good thing.
With you all the way, Gary..and you’re right it’s not a good thing but perfectly understandable.
Take good care
john
Thanks again John. I keep hoping that things will change but I guess not… Oh well.