A World Needing Respite
The Michigan Daily, April 7, 2021
By Kathryn Sullivan
The two stories started the same: An onslaught of warnings were ignored — surely the media was drastically blowing a problem out of proportion. Worries were minimized. Fears were ignored.
Some experts were scorned by those in disbelief. Think what their fear-mongering recommendations would do to our beautiful, burgeoning economy! So, when the prognosticators cried “wolf!,” the sheep, happily lacking in imagination, cried “hoax!
Some sought out scapegoats. China, massive factories, immigrants, lack of policy — all because they were unable to resist looking outwards to point the finger of blame.
This is the story of our global climate emergency. For decades, scientists warned that the earth is overheating because of human behavior and if it continued, our habitat will be dangerously altered. Yet despite these disturbing premonitions, as our planet becomes more febrile and fatigued, life for many goes on as usual.
This is also the story of COVID-19. For months before the virus came to the U.S., doctors warned that the virus was spreading and if it continued, our lives and livelihoods would be dangerously altered. Still, as humans around the planet became febrile and fatigued, skepticism persisted where change should have occurred….