We’re Just Not Up To It

I’m just about ready to give up.

So we’ve been torturing people. Oh, and it was a lot worse than even the craziest left-wing conspiracy theories. But, almost laughable in their predictability, Republicans come marching to the cameras to hedge and spin and justify. Obama is the villain because he released the memos. Morale could be damaged, don’t you see. Let’s not play the Blame Game ™. Look at this douchetruck from Texas on Hardball. Chris Matthews is no hyper-genius, but even his basic understanding of morality and common sense can’t puncture this apologist’s force field of stupid.

The thing is, while we were trying to decide how best to look-forward-and-not-backward in regards the prison rape of our notions of what it is to be a human being, we forgot that being a human being was going to get a lot tougher once the planet is set to “broil.” I don’t know if you remember anything about this, but because of all the poison and garbage we’ve belched into the air since the Industrial Revolution, the Sun’s heat is being trapped within Earth’s atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise, bringing about something we call…what’s it again…”spherical defrosting” or something. This guy who won a presidential election but wasn’t allowed to take office has been making a fuss about it because he’s all worked up about the existential threat posed to humanity by the warming of the Earth.

So this guy goes to Capitol Hill again to talk to all the friendly folks in the Democratic Congress, and Republicans and Democrats hem and haw about taxes and discomfort. And just to be fair, Newt Gingrich, a guy who really cares about other humans, is brought in to counter Gore’s testimony. You know, because when we learned about gravity in school, we had another teacher come in to say that, actually, things fall down because God pushes them.

And then this happens.

What’s my point? I’m about ready to give up on homo sapiens. Millions of Americans threw their hearts into Change in the last election; a young, idealistic president and a friendly Democratic Congress! We will save the world! Instead, we get free passes for torturers and more bullshit excuses for not saving our habitat and civilization from our own idiocy.

It seems we’re just not up to this. We can’t see evil anymore, or we just don’t care. We’re not concerned enough about our species’ prospects to even discuss making the slightest changes. And in the mean time, here come anti-blasphemy laws, children-as-property amendments dressed up as “parental rights” legislation, the guys who brought us Al Qaeda having a controlling stake in a nuclear state, and a class of people responsible for destroying the world economy continuing to slurp at the trough without an ounce of regret. And everyone knows, and nothing changes.

So, humans, I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride. But it’s coming to an end. We don’t have the will, the wisdom, or the patience to even justify our existence, let alone maintain it.

Let’s hope the dolphins do a better job than we did. Here’s the keys, Flipper. She’s all yours.