Those
who wish to "make America great again" seem unable or
unwilling to accept that the United States and the world it inhabits
are irreversibly different from anything they might identify as "the
good old days," and that trying to force change in that
direction will cause death on a massive scale that ensures its
impossibility. By selling that goal and policies that would promote
it, Donald Trump has proven himself a menace to the country he is
campaigning to serve (regardless of whether he intends to really
"serve" – or rule).
As
I discussed back
in July, both presidential candidates support the behaviors most
responsible for the existential crisis that faces our entire species,
with the main difference being mainly in degree. Trump would
accelerate the destruction of natural ecosystems that enable us to
live, without acknowledging it is even a problem; while Clinton is
willing to at least admit there is destruction, though seems
unwilling to take the drastic steps needed to truly address it (even
if she does have a friendly Congress).
I
share both race and age with many hard-core conservatives who I'm
sure support Trump, and for many years I also shared their political
opinions and religious beliefs. Experience, and a parent who thrived
on innovation and exploration, encouraged me to question everything;
and by age 40 l had jettisoned most of those opinions and beliefs in
favor of a more general and personally meaningful set, which I have
written about extensively.
In
retrospect, my evolving views reflected the changes in the world
around me – physically, socially, and in terms of an explosion of
knowledge and understanding of how everything works. As people became
more interdependent, they were forced to face their core values about
life, including which lives they would cherish and which could
be used and thrown away. Those who valued only a few lives seized as
much power as possible for their groups; while the vast majority who
valued other lives as much as their own supported sharing power with
other groups and, to a growing extent, other species.
Meanwhile,
humanity's activity – aided by technology – began having obvious
and increasingly serious impacts on quality of life, and predictive
technologies used by scientists showed that those impacts were
directly traceable to our approach and exceeding of a range of
natural limits to the habitability of our planet. I became aware of
this, and in my own way verified their predictions with a
corresponding change in my worldview that now defines my politics,
along with other parts of my life – because knowledge is most
valuable when shared and converted into action.
I
have shared my insights and attempted to convince those who pay
attention that certain actions are critical to improving the future,
however bleak that may appear to be. Currently the most critical
action is to keep ultraconservatives like Trump from exerting enough
power on world affairs to accelerate humanity's race toward
extinction. In a few days we will know the impact of voting, and be
able to assess whether or not we are in for the worst.