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ACCORDING TO LIZ - Today people and politicians are so overwhelmed by too many problems that they can’t even begin to address them all and, too often, seize on a quick fix in order to move off one and onto the next crisis of the moment.
However, as a result of short-term solutions, too often we create worse trouble for the future.
Everyone at every level needs to take the time to prioritize problems, assess the long-term consequences, and commit to short-term pain for eventual gain.
The delusion of infinite growth, of ever-expanding economic advances that cause no damage to the environment, have no impact on low-tech societies in resource-rich areas are a cynical fiction, and the truth must be held up to the light.
Having long, medium, and short-term goals can help in all facets of problem-solving, chopping concerns down into achievable chunks. If the chunks still seem overwhelming, slice them even thinner until each is manageable
For comprehensive planning, especially in disaster management, this includes having detailed back-up contingencies. And then contingencies on the contingencies.
Yes, this takes time and some up-front investment, but it is a small price to pay compared to the prohibitive costs and consequences of not being prepared for any eventuality.
Existing paradigms in emergency planning and management can be a starting point for applying such frameworks to all issues, even those which appear to be of minimal consequence.
A.I. started small as fictional fantasies and egghead ruminations in garages and coffee shops. Now its hallucination-prone, energy-sucking descendants seem poised to devour our lives.
Global warming was considered merely a blip but, like the frog and the lobster, people didn’t notice they were being boiled alive until it was almost too late.
Even today, those who have money to protect themselves and the opportunity to make even more on the backs of those poor and third-world peoples already suffering the consequences of climate change, choose to deny the severity of its impact.
Nuclear power gone astray and nuclear weapons have been a sword of Damocles hanging over humanity’s head since World War Two.
At one point, superpowers and national governments got together to stringently regulate use but with the fraying of international accord and the escalating energy demands of cryptocurrency, A.I., and the informational era, nuclear-driven threats are again tumbling out of Pandora’s box of curses.
And the curse driving the current explosion of international violence – fast-tracked divisiveness between all peoples that should be sharing a single goal of harmony and peace but are being turned one against the other – is the burgeoning profitability of the world’s armament businesses and the augmentation of the power of self-styled captains of industry and narcissistic dictators.
Resting on the premise that their the ends justify the means. That evil is justified to preserve a self-perceived and often selfish good. But how can any good ever be justified if it is forever tainted with primordial evil?
Which will win? Moral standards upheld or exploitation for greed? Stopping murder of civilians in Gaza or re-opening the Red Sea shipping lanes?
The disconnect between the pablum version and a more uncomfortable visceral version of truth with a capital ‘T’.
All require long-term thinking. And now the Trump administration’s economic and societal convulsions are making things worse.
Much worse.
Greedy corporate honchos and fearful isolationists are pushing for A.I. development without regulations to protect people and the future, on one hand to continue raking in unsustainable amounts of money (with the government getting its cut through investment in Nvidia and other companies in return for favorable treatment) and, on the other, funding fiefdoms based on paranoia about advancements in China, Russia, and the terrorist enclaves that can buy just about anything.
Domestically to enable customized content, not only are consumers entering echo-chambers designed to reinforce narrow perspectives, in most cases they are also releasing private information and inviting more marketeering based on both personal preferences and algorithms tied to confidential data.
Betterment of corporate bottom lines requires the removal of assets benefiting employees and customers, and the increased tolerance by both to accept getting screwed over. And over again.
Small businesses which employ more Americans in the aggregate – at least until they are vacuumed up by the behemoths – have functioned as the engines of a vibrant American economy since the Second World War. And will continue to do so as long as they aren’t gobbled up by merger mania and the shuttering and deliberate bankrupting of once-profitable companies.
The Biden administration’s more powerful regulations and its cracking down on the biggest of companies may have created a rift between Democrats and powerful tech moguls but titans of industry are only interested in buying profits, no matter on which side of the aisle a politician sits.
Rather than pulling back on attacking powerful multinationals and their obscenely-wealthy executives, Democrats must break away from the Republican grift policies that pander to Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and prioritize the interests of main-street Americans and the world of small American businesses to avoid another wipe-out defeat in 2026.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani have shown as a way. One with gusts.
As has Lina Khan who opined: “It’s extraordinarily dangerous and disturbing to suggest that the right path for us is to shy away from bringing lawsuits when firms are violating the law, in ways that hurt people, because they’re friendly with certain parts of our party.”
The donor-bought system designed to benefit only the rich and powerful continues to flourish. It’s just that more and more of us are now catching glimpses of what lies behind the emerald-adorned curtain hiding the Wizard of Ooze.
And can no longer trust the policies of any political institution that relies on it. And the 173.85 million registered voters who can’t all be brought.
Right now, the three overarching challenges facing the human race are probably artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons and climate change, any one of which could destroy the planet and all life on it.
Trump is tearing down American avenues to sustainable green energy and pressuring other countries to relax their pledges to address this existential threat; to burn, burn more oil, gas and coal. For short term profit.
Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his intention to “get” Greenland and its wealth of natural resources. But most Greenlanders want him to buzz off. America is reportedly stepping up its spy operations there. One collated a list of Greenlanders who seem sympathetic to Trump and could be recruited into a secessionist movement; another asked Greenlanders for information that would help disparage Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, in local media.
Nuclear technology pushed by too many gives rise to long term danger along with potential terrorist exploitation and the insurmountable problems of safe disposal of spent fuel.
Plus, it has already been surpassed by solar which is safe, clean, and unlimited… unless, to unleash the full capacity of energy-guzzling tech and crypto, we continue to saturate the Earth’s atmosphere with coal smoke and oil fumes…
Companies that have invested billions in A.I. are spending millions more in removing any constraints to their recouping their losses and laughing all the way to the bank with projected profits – but what when the bank has burned down or blown up?
Those of us who understand that our lives and futures are at stake must come together, must demand change, must not accept “no” for an answer. Must force leadership at all levels to pivot to prioritizing positive results.
For the long term.
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at [email protected].)
