Hall of mirrors

Submitted by Lindsay
Melbourne Australia!

But what’s reality? Who has its clue? (Byron, Jon Juan)

(11/2020) As I write this the firestorms in Colorado are again making headlines. Such fires have increased exponentially over the past 50 years across the western side of your country, and in the last two years they have burnt a staggering 10,326 square miles, just two thousand less than the whole of Maryland.

You do not need reminding of this, as media coverage has been wide and persistent, nor do you need reminding it has happened as a direct result of climate change. Deniers of this are the same group that thinks COVID-19 will be eradicated soon, that a vaccine will be available by the end of the year, and that business must carry on as usual – or they will miss out on a fraction more profit.

On the opposite side, (and unlike these purveyors of stupidity), my heart goes out to everyone who has suffered, whether from death, injury of loss. And to everyone everywhere who have experienced the trauma and hell of things like that.

I grew up in country Victoria, and when I was nine we set out for Melbourne in an old A-model Ford. We’d heard on the radio that a large bushfire was heading toward Melbourne, and had to leave straight away. My uncle drove, my father beside him, my mother and cousin each side of me on the back seat.

It was not long before we saw the smoke, the red sky and the flames of a huge bushfire that was roaring, raging, and gaining on us. I could hear my father saying, "Faster, faster," but it seemed to me we were only managing to stay about a hundred yards ahead of the flames. The car was doing 50, it would go no faster, and I remember my mother praying that we would survive.

Some eighty years later my strongest memory is the noise. From the first ‘whoosh’ of hot, burning air rushing past, to the increasing roar, then the explosions. Cannon fire, machine-guns banging as the tops of tress exploded. Smoke, the dark brown sky, and all I could think of was that it was the eucalyptus oil that was causing the explosions.

How long this went for I don’t remember, but we arrived at a small town, the road swung right, the fire went left, the car stopped and we got out, shaking and gulping air. I was not frightened; terror was for the old, this was adventure.

No one was to blame, as this was nature at work, as it has been from time immemorial. This was reality, implacable and neutral. This was what everyone has faced, from our forebears slowly adjusting their lives to meet new challenges, to today’s congested civilizations, where technology and science has led us to believe that nature is tamed, cities can be built in hurricane zones, cures for most diseases have and will be found, we can be crowded together safely.

Signs of nature fighting back were ignored and disbelieved, but today no one can pretend this is true. Rising sea levels, tundra melting, the Antarctic like an ice cream on the pavement and now the greatest scourge the world has ever experienced.

It seems obvious to anyone who has not got their nose stuck in their IPhone that something has to change, and change quickly. How long can preventative measures be ignored? How long can the imbecilic attitude of Trump and his gang be tolerated?

You are all facing the slippery slope of deregulated capitalism, of a president whose persona is one of peacock preening, manic and irresponsible statements, and fear of losing one second of profit taking.

That he has reduced the presidency to one of disrepute, bribery, and corruption – his hidden tax returns will reveal that – of admiring dictators and of disrespect for everyone who does not toe his line is worse than any dictator has ever done. He has not had his perceived enemies tortured and shot, has not built death camps, but what he has done has achieved the same result. The elite prosper, the rest can go hang.

So here’s the thing: Do you want to stay looking in this hall of mirrors where everything is distorted, where reality is twisted into incomprehensible shapes, or do you want to elect someone who may just pull you back from the brink?

This may be an impossible task, but one thing is sure: He will restore dignity to the office and will attempt to undo some of the most blatant perversions of the financial system ever achieved. He will also let his respect for women and men of all races, their opinion, strengths, and wisdom be seen and encouraged. Information will not be by tweet, but by responsible journalism.

The death of thousands of your fellows each day from COVID-19 will be made to fall by legislation that mandates the wearing of masks – governors who refuse should, in my opinion, be put in the stocks – as well as the enforced closure of areas where people cluster such as sporting, gaming, hotels, restaurants, &c..

Joe Biden can and will win the war against the virus, (although it will take far longer than anyone will admit, possibly three years until a vaccine that works and is safe is available), and will lay the groundwork for having reality checks built into the system.

He, like every other leader, can do nothing about climate change. That is here to stay, and all the goals such as the Paris accord are not achievable. The best anyone can do is prepare their nation for dealing with it by building suitable shelters, investing in protein substitutes, and pooling resources.

He will also reintroduce diplomacy as a means of dealing with perceived enemies, as the usefulness of actual warfare in any form is long past. You don’t believe this? ICBM’s are ready to be used by North Korea, probably Iran, and a world destroyed this way is simply quicker and nastier.

So, in a few days time you have the choice of stepping back from the brink or jumping into the void. My experience of being a kid being chased by a bushfire and finding a haven is similar to the choice before you.

Go for safety, vote Biden. It is not just your future that is at stake; it is the world’s.

Lindsay, waving the flag of support here in Melbourne, Australia.