8.25 seconds

 Four and a half years ago, while listening to the Republican primaries, I predicted Donald Trump would be the next president of the US. He would, I said, win the nomination and from his Republican perch, exploit our natural tribal differences and turn those differences into hateful racial divisions.

Additionally, with his indefensible proclamation, “Climate Change is a Hoax”, he was appealing to our ignorance because we are predominantly science illiterate.

Additionally, I felt, the greatest threat of him becoming president would not be the damage to our institutions he would inflict, (and he has inflicted grievous damage), but after his four-year term if he were to be legitimately beaten at the polls, (and he was legitimately beaten), he would be a threat to our democracy.

On January 6th, our cherished democracy had a near death experience.

While all this has disappointed and angered me, none of the tragedy of the last four years was unforeseen.

What was my plan after the 2016 election? At midnight of the 2016 election, I reaffirmed my job would be the same as it had been the 4 years prior. It would be to continue to educate myself via reputable organizations and bring, to whoever was curious, climate science fact. My end goal, via my appeal to reason, is the survival of future generations.

Were I and my climate science friends successful? NO! I say this because COVID was the central issue going into the election. COVID did not doom Donald Trump’s presidency. It was his science ignorance. If he had listened to his pandemic scientists and epidemiologists, he would be sworn in again as a hero on the 20th of January.

Statistics tell us Americans make up only 4% of the world’s population yet we have 20% of the COVID deaths. Given those numbers, if Donald Trump had a smidgin of science common sense and listened to the experts, Donald Trump not only would be serving his second term as a hero, but 300,000 Americans would be alive. Science ignorance kills!

You might think, with the election of the climate champion, Joe Biden, and the election of two climate savvy senators from Georgia, climate activists would be dancing in the streets. No, we are not. There are a lot of old climate activists who know big money and big oil are still marshalling their wealth and political might against science. Young climate activists know there is little time to save the planet. Young and old have seen the ebb and flow of public attention turn on a dime.

The miracle of COVID vaccines being deployed in record time is vindication of the morality of science, an endeavor which needs no vindication. Since 1900 we have nearly doubled our expected lifespan due almost entirely to science. Thus, humanity should be celebrating and honoring our scientists.

Are we? And how long will we hold this memory? How long will we appreciate the genius of morally driven science?

Microsoft, and all social media companies, keep close track of our attention span. This knowledge is core to how effectively they are manipulating us.  In 2000 our attention span was 12 seconds. Today, it is 8.25 seconds. (Goldfish have remained steady at 9 seconds).

It is my assertion, after the last willing recipient gets his COVID vaccine shot, we have 8.25 seconds to lodge in our collective minds the fact our survival and wellbeing depends on how well we respect science.

When we pray in gratitude for our democracy, our freedoms, our dedicated policemen, our vigilant military, and our tireless healthcare workers perhaps we might include our thanks for scientists, especially climate scientists. This way we will hold the knowledge we need well beyond 8.25 seconds.

If we do not, we will remain vulnerable to any illiterate narcissistic psychopathic conman who wanders into our lives.

Important note: Before we who self-righteously think we are not susceptible to conmen, before we become too self-righteous, read the book, “The Confidence Game, Why We Fall for It…Every Time”, by Maria Konnikova. All of us are susceptible to liars. This book will help you recognize conmen and our vulnerabilities.

 

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