I believe Amanda is posting from the UK
While getting ready to go out or winding down, we’ve of course been watching a lot of TV here, and one thing I’ve noticed that’s interesting is there is a LOT of stuff on about global warming. Diagnosing it, fighting it, preparing for its worst effects. Naturally, this is all presented without controversy---I haven’t seen a hint about non-believers yet in a single one of these shows or news reports. Which makes sense. Referencing non-believers in a report on global warming makes about as much sense in real world terms as mentioning people who believe the moon landing was a conspiracy in stories about space exploration. That part isn’t what’s surprising. But the sheer amount of coverage of the issue shocked me, which says more about America than anything else. Our global warming denialists have been able to discourage extensive coverage of the issue, because who wants to cover an issue that just creates a shitstorm of complaints from people who question the very existence of the topic?
It really drives home how much mileage American conservatives get out of questioning the very nature of reality itself. No one wants to have go-nowhere conversations where you can’t move forward because a number of people refuse to accept the basic premise that reality is real. The discussion on how to educate people about sex is stymied by an endless battle over whether or not human sexuality as it exists needs to be acknowledged or denied, for instance. How much time are we losing that could be aimed at productive discussions of science instead of whether or not the reality of evolution should be accepted?
http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/rejecting_reality/