Dear Heartland Common Sense Subscribers: I hope you have enjoyed reading the first 6 chapters of Dr.Ron Cherry’s book Restoring the American Mind. So now, we will move from the very serious to another topic, the silliness of climate change hysteria from the perspective of a bunch of hogs. This book, Of Ostriches and Lemmings, is also available in hardback, paperback and eBook in case you want to jump ahead. Just go to our website, https://www.americanfreedompublications.com for links to purchase any of our publications.
PREFACE
The world has never experienced a method of mass communication as instantaneous as that provided by the Internet. Unfortunately, it has also sped up the ability for lies to spread. “A Lie will go around the world while Truth is pulling its boots on.” This proverb was mostly likely penned by Jonathan Swift in 1710 and eloquently restated by Charles Haddon Spurgeon in 1855. Now that lies can spread instantaneously, what recourse does Truth have? Truth must be patient and steady. Truth cannot go on offense. To call a lie a lie is to lose one’s own credibility. Truth must slowly reveal itself.
Ostriches do not really hide their heads in the sand on the hope that some approaching danger will just go away. They are really just pecking at the ground for food and grit for their gizzards to aid in digestion. Lemmings do not stampede in a blind panic to their death over a cliff. They just get over-populated in one area from time to time and migrate in mass to another area that is more appealing. But a compelling documentary film can change the public perception. In 1958, Disney produced a film on Nature that showed lemmings rushing over a cliff to their death in the sea. The producers of the documentary herded the poor lemmings to the cliff. It was spectacular but false. Al Gore and David Attenborough did the same thing with polar bears. So, you see, it is really just Created Myth versus Actual Truth.
Martin Capages Jr. PhD
Author of The Moral Case for American Freedom
A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire and intention, by false speaking, to deceive and injure your neighbor.
--Jonathan Swift
INTRODUCTION
In today’s world, with the shameless falsehoods of some Climate Alarmists circling the globe at the speed of light, many have sought to counter that juggernaut with contrarian scientific data and have been overwhelmed by the onslaught from their scientific peers of yesteryear. The Alarmists’ advantage is a matter of finance. Alarmism is a form of excitement to the general public and an excited public can become a mob that is easily directed away from its best interests. Alarmism also attracts funding without a great deal of effort. Actual data gathering and testing using the Scientific Method is too slow for public consumption and the public loses interest quickly in the scientific-speak that accompanies most expert presentations. On the other hand, Alarmism is made to order for today’s commercial advertising marketplace.
But “eventually” the general public discovers that it will receive no rate of return on investments driven by Alarmism, if the Alarmists are wrong. Only a handful of insiders will gain and will do so by funding the Alarmists and their only line of research. If the Alarmists are correct in their hypothesis, then the actions taken by the World should be those of practical mitigation and cost-effective resilience and an eventual adaptation to the changes in the climate. Investing in real problem solutions is a much better way for the general public to achieve a positive return. The problem is that word “eventually.” It can mean a very long time.
Real problem solutions cannot be implemented when the Problem has not been adequately defined, as is the case with Climate Change. So, what should our action be? We should probably seek the Truth in the matter, but that is easier said than done. There are many camps of different opinions, some are in open combat, scientifically speaking. But some of the combat is under the radar and involves spreading conspiracy theories about the opposing side’s motives. In the age of the blogospheres, conspiracy theories are pablum. But the same communication network can also bring thought processes together once the human narcissism plays out. Everyone wants to be “right”, it is human nature. There is glory in being proved correct about some controversial matter. Unfortunately, not everyone can be right.