Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism
CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut

Demolition derby around the world

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by David Holahan
  • June 26, 2020
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

NASA

It’s a rare news story nowadays that spawns mirth. But I had to laugh when I read that North Korea, in a fit of pique worthy of a terrible toddler, had blown up one of its buildings where failed peace talks with South Korea recently had taken place.

Ka-Boom! Take that—and watch out or we’ll blow up another one of our buildings! Monty Python couldn’t improve on that.

North and South Korea, once one nation, have existed in a state of war, hot and cold, for 70 years.

That ridiculous explosion is sad as well as funny, and a powerful metaphor for the idiocy and incompetence afoot in the world. Doesn’t it seem like one big Demolition Derby out there? To quote the late George Jones, “Things have gone to pieces.”

In this country, in the midst of a deadly pandemic, people are taking sides over wearing masks, which scientists point out keeps the  people around them, safer. The responsible use of masks by you and me is also crucial to keeping doctors, nurses and first responders safe.

But the un-masked are insisting on being free from constraint, free in effect to become potential disease vectors —free to be anti-social idiots. In the best of times there are places that require people to wear shoes and shirts (even coats and ties) to get served; when going to the beach (most beaches, anyway) one dons a bathing suit. So how is wearing a mask at certain times and places until this is over such an unbearable imposition?

And contrary to the White House-dwelling champion of the great unmasked, the virus is not going to “fade away.” With leadership like that, it’s a small wonder that the United States is leading the world in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths: 2.2 million and nearly 120,000 respectively as of June 21; the former is almost equal to all of Europe. With less than five percent of the world’s population, America is now seeing 20 percent of the new cases worldwide.  In fact, the E.U. is contemplating banning U.S, travelers. Instead of the “Kung Flu,” as our racist president termed it at his recent failed rally, perhaps it’s time to call it the Red, White and Blue Flu.

As horrible as COVID-19 is, another pandemic has been spreading across the globe and is intensifying. We better not screw this one up, too, for the sake of our children and their children.

It’s hard keeping up with all the bad news lately, so here’s something you may have missed (in normal times it would have made the front pages): thanks to melting permafrost caused by Global Warming, more than 150,000 barrels of diesel fuel has spilled into a river in northern Russian and is wending its way toward the Arctic Ocean. The disaster has been compared to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

The tank holding the fuel was built on permafrost that had held solid for centuries, but the good old (frozen) days are over because the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the planet. In fact, a temperature of 100 degrees was recorded in a Russian town within the Arctic Circle on June 20. When permafrost melts it releases trapped methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that will further contribute to rising temperatures.

These are just two of the countless signs of a warming, ailing planet. Annual global temperatures now routinely set record highs. Last year was the second warmest on record, and the seven hottest years ever recorded have occurred in the past decade. So glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, forest fires are more frequent and intense, and the greatest nation on earth elected a man who doesn’t believe in climate change or renewable energy, a man who thinks coal, the fossil fuel of yesteryear, is our future.

The climate pandemic that the current administration is doing so much to stimulate will be far more devastating than COVID-19.

A sick planet is no place for the ones we love.

David Holahan is a freelance writer from East Haddam.

CTViewpoints welcomes rebuttal or opposing views to this and all its commentaries. Read our guidelines and submit your commentary here.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Better rail service will boost Naugatuck Valley economy
by Kara Rochelle

For residents of the Naugatuck Valley, whether you ride the train or not, increased rail service will directly and positively affect your life. Increased and reliable rail service means increases in property values.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO