We the People have spoken

When you stop and actually consider the antecedents of American democracy, it’s comical that Republicans refer to those of us on the left as “radical,” as though it were an insult. The founding fathers and mothers of the Great American Experiment were the most radical humans on the planet back in the day, in 1776 and 1789. Even by today’s standards they were the most revolutionary radicals of all time, and that fact was enshrined in the first tiny word, writ large, of our Constitution.

That word was “We.” Neither was it the royal we. Not we the king, nor we the emperor, but “We the People.” It’s difficult today to capture the radicalness of that idea, so used are we to governments of the people, by the people and for the people. Back then the idea that a government could exist expressly for the welfare and benefit of the common rabble, the unwashed non-aristocrat, wasn’t just radical, it was downright absurd.

Yet that ideal has never been entirely realised. Congress (especially the House as constituted today) seldom executes the will of the people. Corporate interests and money get in the way. Maybe it’s time they started. Especially considering what’s at stake and how many people know it.

This year the UN Development Programme surveyed 73,000 people in 77 different countries, one of the largest surveys of its kind ever conducted. They discovered that 80 percent of respondents wanted governments to do more about climate change. That’s an overwhelming number. Seldom will you find so much agreement about anything. And that agreement was largely uniform across national boundaries.

It’s particularly surprising when we have been led to believe that climate change is supposed to be a topic of bitter controversy. We the People are telling our government and corporations a different story than the one they have been telling us. And it’s time for them to act.

Climate change conspiracy theories are most vigorously promoted by politicians and corporations. They have taken their absurdity to absurd levels. For example, the same people who’ve been telling us that human beings cannot possibly have any effect on the climate are the same ones today who are telling us that Democrats are causing hurricanes. These silly and stupid children can’t even keep their silly and stupid stories straight.

Well the people of the world and we the people of America have spoken, and we have spoken in landslide numbers. We recognize the dangers we face. There’s something deeply troubling about the recent hurricane activity. The weather of the 21st century looks very different from the weather of the 20th, and those of us with legs in both centuries know it.

These “hurricanes of the early 21st century are not like the ones of the 20th century,” wrote John Morales, an atmospheric scientist and the longest tenured weathercaster in South Florida. We are living in “a century that looks nothing like the past.”

In the “2024 state of the climate,” published this week, the authors mince no words about the dire predicament we find ourselves in. “We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperilled,” they write.

“For half a century,” the report continues, “global warming has been correctly predicted even before it was observed — and not only by independent academic scientists but also by fossil fuel companies. Despite these warnings, we are still moving in the wrong direction; fossil fuel emissions have increased to an all-time high, we are failing to avoid serious impacts, and we are witnessing the grim reality of the forecasts as climate impacts escalate, bringing forth scenes of unprecedented disasters around the world and human and nonhuman suffering.”

I believe we are on the brink of a huge win in November. In three short weeks we will awaken to find ourselves with our first woman President and a blue wave that should usher in a Democratic majority in the House and retain the majority in the Senate. Let’s ensure our new generation of young politicians know that we expect action on climate change, and not just greenwashing rhetoric. We the People have spoken, it’s time for our government — and the governments of the world — to act. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.