Gail Collins Howler: Facts Don't Matter: Narratives Do!
This is a perfect example of all that has gone wrong with our public discourse and what passes for important public policy. Facts simply no longer matter. What counts are narratives and motives.
Thus Gail Collins, writing about global warming in the NYT, states: The Europeans have a perfect right to look down on the United States since they've set much more ambitious targets for reducing global warming. While they do not appear to be likely to meet any of them, it's the thought that counts.
!!!!! Global warming is beyond our jurisdiction here at SHS, but this is an absolute howler! Actually accomplishing isn't what matters. Effectiveness isn't what matters. It is the narrative that really counts: The Europeans want to cut back on greenhouse gasses! Whether they actually do is immaterial.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 4:45 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Is this a joke? This is DAily Show material! LMAO!!!! =D
Alas, no. This is how some people think today.
It's ironic that you take this position on global warming but on the issue of germline genetic engineering you think that words count more than actual laws.
I'm still waiting for your suggested wording for the law that Congress should enact to prevent the brave new world you are supposedly opposed to.
You do feel Congress should enact a law right? This is such a basic issue, it's very strange that you ignore this question.
Environmentalists have been taking this approach for years. Some time back I read about how in England there was evidence that recycling was worse for the environment than just incinerating the garbage--what with all the extra trucks driving around to pick up the recyclables, the processing to recycle them, and so forth. But the article quoted some environmentalist saying that they were opposed to incinerating because recycling taught a certain attitude or mindset that they wanted to encourage. Get that? Same thing: What you really do to the environment doesn't matter; recycling is part of our "reuse, recycle" ideology and incineration isn't, so we'll go with what works worse for the environment for the sake of ideology.
You'll hear nowadays that even if Kyoto won't help global warming, we should do it as a symbol. Same idea: We want people to think like we want them to think. We're all about attitude control. Never mind realities.
Controlling mindsets is as good as controlling realities, and perhaps the more important realm for those who traffic in social engineering. If we can get people to abdicate their own thoughts to the experts, their lives are easily won.
Some of us had been under the naive impression long ago that environmentalists actually cared about the environment. I suppose that's like PETA caring for animal welfare, which Wesley has also debunked.
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