We Are All Connected

What Pope Francis points out here is almost definitely true; he’s spot-on as usual.  Like so many other challenges our civilization faces, overcoming the pandemic will not be possible if we continue to ignore the needs of the least fortunate members of our population.

This, of course, is analogous to our efforts to mitigate climate change.  As long as there are huge greenhouse gas emitters in the third world, e.g., India and China, what the developed world does to decarbonize its electric grids and transportation systems means relatively little.

Recognizing this, and changing the way international society works accordingly, is going to be a monumental challenge, especially if the zeitgeist of current-day America doesn’t change. If the current administration has stood for anything on the world stage, it’s nationalism, isolationism and a complete disregard for the well-being of everyone and everything outside of our country.

In the absence of change here, we can only expect the planetary struggles we face to go from difficult to impossible.