We all need coping mechanisms. Radical acceptance and being a "doomer" is one mechanism. The alternative is to become an outlaw.

We've discussed Aaron Sorkin's work before, and there's a tendency to accept whatever a character says in our little you tube clip as the "message" for the whole story.

Years ago, I posted a clip from an episode of West Wing with President Martin Sheen speaking passionately about how we need to rain down Hell on a country that had sponsored some terrorist event. The point I was trying to make was that in the end, of the episode, POTUS decides something different, that this kind of speech is not meant to be taken unironically. I had edited and uploaded the clip to bring to the discussion we had been having about Sorkin.

Well, it was voted down, because it was taken unironically. Worse, it went on to get an obscene amount of views for my god-forsaken YouTube channel, six figures, also because it was taken unironically.

There's a pretty good chance that there's something later in the episode that will undercut the doomerism here. This is supposed to be drama. Actually, with a few changes, mostly in the editing and timing, it's an SNL sketch.

I spent my whole lunch break trying to come up with a word combo for "happy", "hollow" and came up with nothing.

The real point should only be a harsher critique of our past 'efforts' is due. Optimism in itself is not the problem, it is the laziness you speak of, a lack of critical thinking, too few discussions, too few actions, too little interest in change, the wrong voting actions taken, and so on.

The michael moore funded documentary critiqueing the downsides, waste, expenses and net carbon output of several types of green energy projects that were deemed a failure was the first time I felt a simultaneous sense of optimism and a deep sorrow that the problem was not going to be fixed with an easy tech breakthrough. The more important message of the documentary was that corporate selfishness was being masked behind a green energy effort that was nothing but a PR campaign and that the actual green energy movement hasn't even started yet.

There is obviously an incentive to get people to have climate dread. It spurs inaction, it spurs depression, it worsens economic interest because of the simultaneous belief in a lack of a real future, it worsens participation in politics and allows their lobbyist-powered political machine to thrive.

The problem isn't sloth. Nor is it lust, envy, or gluttonly. I guess you could say it's greed, but to be more specific, the issue is misinformation. As H Bomberguy said in his climate change video: "not just people who are wrong. People who are PAID to be wrong ON PURPOSE."

If I had a gun with two bullets, and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Crackersmack, I would remove the bullets, and pistol-whip Crackersmack to death.

Your muscles are too atrophied from your sedentary lifestyle to pistol-whip anything JHM.

My lifestyle is actually fairly active, but it's hard for me to take offense. I sort of deserve that after provoking Sugarsmacks out of nowhere, when all he did (this time) was post a funny quote from THE OFFICE that I very much enjoyed. Sorry, Sugar, I just thought it was funny.

I like it better when you go for the throat

Hell, even if you had never seen anything by Sorkin, you would still immediately smell the Sorkin on this.