Hey, what's new?

Reading about, and now seeing helplessly first-hand how people jump through hoops to deny climate change (once called global warming) exists and is caused, in major part, by human behavior is the closest to feeling like an immortal observer I am ever to likely be. We've known of a problem since roughly the 1920s, but are so hard-wired to seek out immediate threats and to focus on our betterment that we have pointedly ignored our own imminent demise.

Beyond all other troubles, past and present: slavery, war, famine, disease, poverty, racism, economic divides, and other human cruelty, climate change will doom society in for good.

What? Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud? I meant to say, "Same old soup, just reheated. How about you?"

Vaccinate your children

Let me start with this, because it's important. Three cases of measles this year, but only one confirmed resident of King County. The others were visitors. Check that link and make sure your too-young-or-too-sick-to-be-vaccinated children weren't exposed. Luckily, public schools still have very high vaccination rates overall. But here is the thing...

If you don't vaccinate your kids (with exception for medical necessity of course), and tell other people not to vaccinate, you are a liar and I am calling you OUT. I do it out of love and frustration that your insistence on mistrusting the vast majority of the established medical community is bringing back diseases that got so bad that, decades ago, people were finally forced to vaccinate (or probably just died).

You've had the wool pulled over your eyes just as much as climate change deniers, and the consequences are just as dire. In both cases, people you claim to care about--the poor and marginalized--will be hurt right along with your own peer group. I hope that sits well on your conscience as you smugly take your expensive vitamin A and some expensive, worthless sugar pill in a bottle marked "Homeopathic Measles Remedy." Snake oil is still snake oil, and it's being sold to you at a steep price.

But you know what? I don't even care if you decide homeopathy "works for you." Because you're not vaccinating for you. You are doing it so that other, non-able-bodied persons are able to live free of worry from another problem piled onto whatever medical ailments they already face. If you still don't vaccinate because "oh vaccines cause autism..." No they fucking don't; that is a straight up lie. To quote the CDC link at the end of the last sentence, in big bold print, "There is no link between vaccines and autism." Just because Autism exhibits itself in young children around the age they start getting vaccinated, it does not mean vaccines are the cause. If an unvaccinated child turns out to be healthy and disease-resistant, it DOES NOT MEAN vaccines don't work. It means your child's genetics are very well-tuned to fight disease. It also does not mean your child doesn't carry a disease that may be spread to other children.

None of your correlations are linked with causation. It would be like me saying that, because I ate a peach and felt good the next day, peaches must have magical healing properties. It is LUDICROUS (though, of course, that is exactly what claims of superfoods say, but we can talk about that another day).

Don't worry, it'll feel so GOOD and RIGHTEOUS to scoff at me, because you believe the thoroughly debunked lies, and wholly espouse the incorrect information that was fed to you by your peer group. You continue to believe that untested, unproven "natural remedies" will keep you and everyone else safe, if only they just keep believing. It's so easy to believe these things, because it is EASY. Someone you trust is telling you it is so. But when you dig deeper, when you look at the methodology of studies, when you ask a medical doctor without "naturopath" in their name, when you continue asking other doctors their opinions, you will find that you should vaccinate, and you should do it now.

Morning Brain: Well, Here We Go

Recently, I ran across an article on satirical news site The Onion which attempted to express that feeling where something suddenly becomes inevitable, and you have to steel your nerves to deal with it.

Here are things I've had to steel my nerves against lately:

• The alarming number of police shootings reported in the media on a near-weekly basis.
• The fact that the nation's largest police union has endorsed an orange bigot for president.
• An unprecedented die-off of trees and coral, both tied to human progress, and the lack of giving-a-shit by pretty much everyone.
• The remainder of the election cycle looming. I'm not that old, but I have never seen anything this vitriolic come out of this nation.

On the other hand, here are a few things that helped me unclench slightly:

• Famous people finally speaking out against injustices in venues in which they know they will be heard.
• The deep, gutteral laughter caused by a friend's comedic timing during an otherwise serious discussion.
• The Free Hugs movement and the growing level at which people are treating each other as human beings at an individual level.
• The undeniable fact that for every terrible thing we see, there are as many other things worth celebrating, from exciting space discoveries to the simplicity of a beautiful view of the sunrise. 

How do we fix the world's problems? By showing each other our love and vulnerability, and by helping each person we meet have a better day.

It's hard, especially in a culture where we are bombarded by negativity. I, for one, am trying. I don't have a lot to offer, but I can be polite on the bus or compliment a stranger I pass on my way to get grocieries. What I need to work on is getting out of my comfort zone a little more, and maybe volunteering my time somewhere meaningful. This has been a little bit rambling, but thanks for reading.