The Terror Within

They're raising the alarm. The global warming problem is certain. And they are 90% positive that humans are causing it. (For the uninitiated, in "science speak", "90% positive" means "there is no doubt".) Some suggest that even if we stopped dumping greenhouse gases into the air, the effect would continue for centuries. And, apparently, it is primarily the United States who is to blame for this problem.

But, don't stop there. They're raising the alarm. The AIDS epidemic is out of control. Millions are getting the disease around the world, but especially in Africa. There is no cure and precious little treatment. Children are contracting it from their infected parents. Babies are being born with it. It's a horrible problem worldwide. One of the saddest tragedies in this problem is that the United States isn't doing enough to solve it.

And they are still raising the alarm. We're losing in Iraq. It is a poor strategy with insufficient reason and inadequate goals, and we are not likely going to succeed in Iraq. Americans are dying almost daily. Worse, Iraqis are killing Iraqis in sectarian violence brought on by the U. S. intrusion into the area. Iran is feeding the violence. Syria is recruiting young men to go to fight in Iraq. It is a $400 billion mess, costing the lives of more than 3000 Americans and tens of thousands Iraqis.

And they're still raising the alarm. President Bush is the worst thing to happen to the United States since ... I don't know, I guess since its inception. He is incompetent, irrelevant, ill-advised, and dangerous. He hasn't had a good idea since he took office, and nothing that comes out of his mouth is worth listening to.

Surely you can see by now that this list can go on. There is disaster around every corner. It's unclear that there's anything good at all happening anywhere. Calamity is upon us from all sides. The most difficult part is that there are no answers -- just problems. "Okay, let's say that there is a problem with global warming and that Man is to blame. Now what?" The answers are either inane or non-existent. According to wikipedia, the primary sources of human emission of greenhouse gases are the use of fossil fuels, livestock, landfills, chlorofluorocarbons, and the use of fertilizers. So ... if we'd all stop driving, eliminate the use of electricity and refrigerators, stop making trash (and going to the bathroom ... one of the specific problems cited), and stop growing food with fertilizers, well, then, this global warming problem would go away ... after about 200 years ... when we're all dead. I checked one website which made practical suggestions on how each of us can decrease emissions. I already do most of them without thinking of emissions. Some of them I don't do because the cost is prohibitive. They're suggesting that if each of us properly inflated our tires and took shorter showers, well, then, the problem is fixed! (I'm over-simplifying. But the list is overly simplistic and non-effective.) The only thing that humans can do to stop this problem we've caused is to eliminate most of the human population and all of our technology and civilization and return to prehistoric times where we didn't live anywhere long, there weren't too many of us, and we had no technology.

The list goes on. There is no cure and no prevention available for AIDS. What do they recommend we do about it? There is already several ongoing investigations into cures, treatments, and immunizations. That's not enough. The epidemic is out of hand. Do something! Do what? What do they recommend we do in Iraq? If we stay there we've lost. If we pull out we've lost. What is the recommendation? What do they want us to do about our President? Shall we impeach him? Assassinate him? Tar and feather him and ride him out of Washington on a rail? None of these are useful, practical, responsible suggestions. What do you want us to do?

I sometimes wish we could make a law. "Don't complain about a problem if you aren't going to offer a viable solution." As it currently stands, all this raising of alarms is simply terrorism. It raises fears with no possibility of fixing the situation. There is no productive use for this kind of alarmist tendencies and no one is offering suggested solutions. There is very little difference between this kind of running around yelling, "The sky is falling" and the terrorism of the radical Islamist.

Here's what I suggest. For every minute that you spend listening to the fear mongering news media, spend an equal amount of time in prayer and in your Bible. For all the garbage you take in, spend an equal amount of time renewing your mind. Maybe that will help. (Just trying to offer a viable solution.)