Invisibility of problems

The invisibility of water can be a problem. People often assume that problems do not exist because they are unseen. But everyone knows, if they think about this even for a moment, that the absence of color, or motion, whatever might be a giveaway about a problem, does not mean there are no problems. The very invisibility of water encourages people not to think about its' scarcity & contamination. But as soon as there is an algae scum, oil slick or other surface problem awareness tends to go up. The problem is that people want to dismiss or downplay problems, to think of this as some temporary aberration ..... perhaps too much phosphorous (!).

Living in a time where self preoccupation and its con commitment lack of focus beyond the personal, an ordinary person would rather trust an expert to think, feel or analyze surrounding problems. And with economic conditions such as they are, we are already seeing cuts in services which could otherwise make up for either a person's lack of focus or their inability to analyze, or overcome their disinterest in conditions which might threaten them. Thus the non-payment of taxes and the possibility of greater buying power becomes attractive, albeit dangerous.

The political ramifications here may be serious, especially with the Democrats trying to head off the Republicans at the pass.
If ecoli outbreaks continue to happen, an increase in inspectors may be a necessity, even if they are hired as independent contractors and seemingly have lower standards and may be "in bed" with those they are critiquing. How to afford safe guards and firewalls when we are in the midst of severe budgets cuts, posturing and politicizing? More personal diligence seems to be mandatory, even if we must have our self preoccupation and sloth jeopardized.

We may see citizen programs spring up to act as critical mechanisms, including educational programs to teach critical expertise. But how would these be licensed or given credibility by jurisdictions? Otherwise we may have the spec tor of posse like organizations taking things into their own hands (?). As it stands now organizations such as Waterkeepers and Riverkeepers must do water testing and making known the results so that change can happen. These are perhaps model organizations for the present and future.

No Blood from a Stone?

There is no end of disaster prognosis, and no shortages of obfuscation and confusion, including the President's budget, the Republican response, etc. The problems are not new, but denial as national policy is a bit more endemic. I've written earlier about the problems of entitlement attitudes and denial, and these are not restricted to those who depend upon social welfare programs, of course.

What about the CEOs and their families who desperately need bonus packages to maintain life styles which have enormous built-in costs, and lifestyle necessities? And speaking of lifestyle necessities, how are people throughout our society going to be able to maintain their so-called sanity without the cushions of privilege unknown to those on social welfare? There are so many safety valves that need massaging.

What would Thorsten Veblen think of this era, the man who wrote "The Theory of the Leisure Class," in which "the opium of the masses" might seem extreme tame now-a-days? As things tighten down we are going to see those attempting to squeeze blood from stones look to more than Biblical references for solace. Alternative economists will be sought after, eg. the "barefoot" economist from Chile, Manfred Max Neef, rather than allowing those aligned with Wall Street and corporate academia to "blow smoke." Time's a wasting, and so many of us depend on procrastination to get by.