Ostrichs and boiling frogs.

Let’s be honest: most of us prefer delusion to reality. Why? It takes less thoughtful consideration, and we assume it allows us to avoid confrontation (a state of discomfort). Also, we have been programmed to believe that we must be nice, even in the face of disaster. Goodness conquers evil, which is more than likely true in the long run, primarily when we collectively act in the interest of all. However, an indisputable point must be made: There are no examples when any form of civilization has perpetuated endlessly. None.

What exactly do I mean by “delusion?” Simply put, the avoidance of facing facts, some of which really need to be met. If we don’t, the seeds of past states of avoidance grow into dominating controls. Evil acts left unaddressed result in evil extended. Evil men left alone result in building conditions of “wolf slavery” as wolves in sheep clothing.

It’s a good thing for the world that we have a continuing supply of young people. Once we become old, the tendency is to become a part of the problem by sinking into states of comfortable apathy and closing out reality by putting our heads in the sand. There is a coined phrase that describes this tendency. It’s called the normalcy bias and refers to a mental state people enter when facing disasters. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of bad things occurring and its possible effects. The key to this mental state is the delusive thought that risk is minimal, and there is no need to take action. After all, no serious consequences have occurred in the past, so what makes us think this will change in the future? And furthermore, surly someone (other than us) must be taking care of business.

Plato, Edmund Burke, Leo Tolstoy, John Stuart Mill, and, undoubtedly, many others have spoken about how evil develops and grows. All of them said in various ways, All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is those good men do nothing. However, we good men and women unintentionally fall prey to furthering our own undoing by assuming that frogs won’t die when placed in gradually heated water, the increments being too small to measure. In today’s world, evil men have grown quite clever at hiding their actions or promoting their activities as somehow good for us.

Isn’t this supposed to be a blog that promotes good triumphing over evil by meeting evil with goodness, by offering the other cheek when struck? Yes, it is, but it is also about discerning, wise actions. It must be pointed out that no intelligent person ever sponsored stupidity. Jesus ran the moneychangers out of the temple, and Bodhidharma is credited with developing Shaolin martial arts.

The moneychangers of today look somewhat different than during the day of Jesus. Now they wear thousand dollar suits,  hang out on Wall Street and in Congress. In the days of the Savings and Loan debacle, more than 3,500 corrupt bankers were jailed. However, not a single banker has seen the inside of a jail cell resulting from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 (which many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s).

It also invades our seeming tranquility through our food supply. Monsanto has an acknowledged mission to own our food by controlling seeds and the soil where they grow. We can’t see the impact because it grows inside us in increments so small it’s like the heating water that boils the frog. Little by little, we are being poisoned, burned up by conflagrations, or swept away by a growing magnitude of hurricanes and floods. Millions worldwide are broadcasting warnings, yet we pay no heed since we trust the EPA. It is growing increasingly clear that the EPA is owned by Monsanto. Despite tangible evidence of harm, within the past, the EPA has approved an increase in the deadly poison glyphosate here in the US.  And, of course, this same corruption has now become the new norm in Washington.

So what has changed? The normalcy bias reigns supreme, and we have swallowed the propaganda of the spin masters that all will be well if we just ignore scientists, shut up and trust those politicians in the know. This tide must shift, and there is only one way to accomplish the sift: coming out of our apathy and taking action. How? By joining those who are trying to make a difference. I’m not a shill for any specific action group, but there are many available that will save our collective behinds (but only if participation exists).

Get involved, be proactive, and take action, or all of us will pay the price. The essential point of my post today is not about bankers, Monsanto, or jail. It’s about apathy and participating in our own undoing by assuming all will be well if we just don’t rock the boat. However, perhaps we need to check to see if the ship is still seaworthy. If not, we have some choices: Fix the leaks or check our life rafts.