Friday, March 26, 2010

Elaborating on my Health Care/Peak Oil Views

To expand on my last blog entries regarding my views on health care, I want to post a personal reply I made to someone elaborating on this issue within the context of Peak Oil:

I realize my opinion is of the extreme minority; there are very few people willing to look beyond the confines of the way civilization DOES operate to see the way civilization WILL operate if we get our collective ass in gear and start to view society in terms of what is worth saving. (Otherwise, if we don't, if society dissolves into an ideological fracas In Jesus' Name, then civilization WON'T operate.) I can't think of a single politician who operates on this level. Even Dennis Kucinich, who told me in person that he IS Peak Oil Aware, doesn't operate this way. The only way I can explain the disconnect is that politicians in this country are elected to either maintain the status quo or reform the status quo. When was the last time someone was elected to destroy the status quo? (I can't think of any in this country. You might make a case that Allende ran on a platform in Chile to destroy the status quo, but we all know how that ended.) Therein lies the disconnect that I speak of when I refer to the Infinite Growth Paradigm. A politician's primary job within the context of our current paradigm is to make the economy grow. I'm waiting for the day a politician comes out and says, "Look, if I keep bullshitting everyone, I'll bullshit this country to DEATH, so here's the truth: Because world oil production is in a state of permanent decline, our economy CAN NO LONGER GROW. PERIOD. Unless we switch from an economic paradigm based on permanent growth to an economic paradigm based on sustainable living for all citizens, our society will no longer exist in any civilized sense". Until that day, there is no solution to our problems. And if that day comes, there still won't be a solution to our problems, but we might be able to honestly confront the options that we have to save what is most important. What do I consider most important? Sounds corny, but this is the first thing that comes to mind: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Without your health, your life is threatened, and it's pretty damned hard to enjoy your liberty and pursue happiness. Once you take politics, ideology, and especially money out of the equation, that might simplify that all citizens have that unalienable right fulfilled.


That's not my final word on the subject, but hopefully it will be the last for a while. Next week I hope to blog about the recent vacation I took with my wife, which was quite an experience. It's nice to get back to reality, but at the same time, I understand the temptation to escape it!

2 comments:

Tanya @ TeenAutism said...

I learn so much from your outlook. Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Robert Paulsen said...

Thanks Tanya! As soon as I get the photos downloaded, I'll write about it.