Ocean Acidification Is Climate Change's 'Equally Evil Twin,' NOAA Chief Says

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42. There's also this possibility

Last edited Wed Jul 18, 2012, 08:18 AM - Edit history (3)

Consider the worldview of an activist for a moment.

For an activist, change is not only desirable but essential. The world is seen as not being OK as it is, it is always in need of improvement. In order to move toward improvement the world must be changed along the lines valued by the activist. Not to change means to stay mired forever in imperfection. The activist views this constant mutability, with the world being driven by human desires from a state of shortcoming towards a state of perfection, as the natural state of affairs. Driving that change is seen as a responsibility, even an obligation.

The view I have adopted is that the world is in fact perfect exactly as it is. If it was "meant" to be any other way, it would have been. In this view there is no need to drive change, change simply happens. The idea of having made mistakes in the past is seen as just that - an idea. Things happened as they did, and there's nothing that can be done in the present to change that. similarly, there's no need to work towards improvement in the future. Change will happen, we will play a role, but we don't direct the unfolding of the future.

Activists may see this view as passive, fatalistic and possibly even irresponsible. I see it as obvious. It may cause an activist pain to encounter this attitude, because it violates their carefully nurtured and deeply defended concepts of "should" and "shouldn't".

DU has a high population of activists.