The Boiling Point

We’ve all heard the story of the frogs in the pot of water that gradually gets so hot that it boils them and they miss the opportunity to hop out of the pot,

Got me to thinking…there’s all sorts of pots that are heating up to the point of no return if we are not careful.

Examples:

Global Warming: So much written about this I can not add much but let’s consider the following:

• wild fire every day
• hurricane every day
• crop failure
• famine

How bad does it have to get?

Mass shootings….does there have to be one every day….in every community?

Regular shootings of the day-to-day local community variety. This is actually happening in high crime areas. But it has not hit the “boiling point”. Why? because its not happening every day in every neighborhood, every community. I’m not saying this should happen but at what point would the expression “enough is enough” really be taken to heart by everyone? Do we have to reach a point at which you had a 50-50 chance of getting to your car without being shot before we collectively did something about it?

The national debt/deficit: The ultimate example of out-of-site, out-of-mind until the shit hits the fan and money is worthless and it’s too late.

Racism and police brutality: Follows the pattern of “it’s not real until it happens to you”.

What do all of the above situations have in common

• They’re insidious. They sneak up on us.
• They affect other people. Until they affect us (and it’s too late).
• Our political system (binary winner take all format) and never ending campaigning cycles do not allow for strategic, long term tackling of issues that require dedicated, forward thinking strategies.

So….until the day comes when every family of every socio-economic, cultural, racial, ethnic sector of our society is directly negatively affected, the respective problems will not be sufficiently real. The frogs got cooked and so will they.

Lastly, there are those that insist that the covid-19 pandemic is hoax and there is no reason to get vaccinated or wear a mask even when the virus causes their death. These frogs not only remained blissfully heating up in the pot, they made a conscious decision to remain in the pot.

If you have any further insights or comments concerning my dire predictions, I would be delighted to further understand these existential threats.