In Matters of Faith

In some respects arguing with the chem trail/Agenda 21/AGW is a hoax crowd is similar to arguing to those of faith. The standards of evidence that they require to support their views are low to non-existent whereas the countervailing side must have unreasonable amounts of evidence and even then it may be rejected due to additional reasons of bias or downright conspiracy.


Nothing in society happens in a vacuum. Sure there are those among the rich that would like nothing more than a majority of us to disappear in some disaster while they wait it out in a very comfortable bunker waiting for the day to emerge and take control of society in some post apocalyptic Ayn Rand fantasy. But these people, as the Conspiracy theorist/patriots/freedom lovers like to point out, are the few.


Allow me to illustrate. A few years ago I had the opportunity to engage an in-law in a discussion on labour unions. Unions are mostly despised by those that are not in unions, I suspect out of jealousy, but those who are anti-union owe what rights and privileges they have to unions. "Oh yeah? But what about the laws in place protecting employees?" intones my in-law nodding sagely as she lays down what she thinks is her "ace" argument. "Do you think laws are static? Once they are on the books they are there in perpetuity?" I replied. "If unions disappeared after they got the laws passed that they wanted to pass, how long until those, whose best interest is to suppress the value of labour, get those laws undermined and repealed?" I asked.


That is how society works,small groups work to game the system in their favour but if it tilts too much then there is a spontaneous countervailing rise in social movements, social justice if you will. Although the status quo will smear these groups with op eds and labels, even going as far as prosecuting them for made up crimes, these movements are a natural immune response to the cancer at the root of our society.


The remaining question is why is the process taking so long. The answer is the status quo like any good cancer has long studied the natural immune response and has become quite adept at short circuiting it, dispersing it, marginalizing it and channeling it away from themselves. First is the media which they can misinform and misdirect the masses, next is the legal infrastructure in which they can change the rules as they see fit, next is the conspiracy groups to allow real issues get bogged down by heaps of nonsense, lastly the legitimate groups like the libertarians, democrats and republicans, groups that you can throw your support into but never control.


I, in my travels, have had but a few hard questions for which I have sought answers. I have in return been given solutions that do not address the problem, have been told that my questions are illegitimate, have been labelled whatever out group label was fashionable to the group in question.


I do not really have faith that people will unravel the knots in their reasoning on their own and they certainly do not willingly accept outside help. My hands are tied.