How Many Fantasies Fit in a Bottle Thrown into the Ocean?

An article in the Guardian-UK promises that Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and other international leaders promise ‘A green transition that leaves no one behind’, whatever the hell that means. One dependable thing about messages corked inside bottles and thrown into the ocean is that they are seldom (if ever) found so no signatory will ever be held accountable.

That’s a perfect definition of a feel-good political exercise with no consequences

Which is why Sunak, Biden and Macron signed on so quickly. From my perspective the evidence grows exponentially that we humans are just another failed species and will most likely leave the earth within 200 years, not in an Elon Musk rocket, but by the same extinction process common to mammals before us.

Supporting my unscientific view, currently 82 species per day disappear, 4 every hour, 8 during a modest dinner at a restaurant. Yet friends of mine claim to have turned vegan or vegetarian to save the animals, reinforcing my notion that we see what we care to see. For comparison, according to one estimate, Earth's extinction before we really got the ball rolling was about one species per year.

The message in the Sunak, Macro, Biden bottle is that they are ‘urgently working to deliver more for people and the planet’

Bless their hearts, but all three are on very shaky ground in their home countries and, at best, more is a pretty nebulous target. “Multiple, overlapping shocks have strained countries’ ability to address hunger, poverty, and inequality, build resilience and invest in their futures,” they say. “Debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries present a major hurdle to their economic recovery, and to their ability to make critical long-term investments.”

That sounds very much like a definition of modern day Britain, France, America and most countries of the Western world. In the spirit of all politics being local, the advice might better be ‘doctor, cure thyself.’

“We want a system that better addresses development needs and vulnerabilities,” they say…

…”now heightened by climate risks, which could further weaken countries’ ability to eliminate poverty and achieve inclusive economic growth. Climate change will generate larger and more frequent disasters, and disproportionately affect the poorest, most vulnerable populations around the world. These challenges cross borders and pose existential risks to societies and economies.”

Translation: Here comes the white colonialist again, trying to boost his sagging economy by addressing our needs and vulnerabilities. Sorry, western whites, but we have sufficient experience with having our development needs and vulnerabilities addressed and we no longer trust the vendor.

Here’s a taste of paragraph headings from the old, white, colonialists

“We want our system to deliver more for the planet.” Well, the planet thanks you very much, gentlemen, but insists you’ve done quite enough for it in the past hundred years. The planet would like to take a rest, if that’s okay with you.

“We are convinced that poverty reduction and protection of the planet are converging objectives.” Actually, replies the planet, poverty reduction is another dog-whistle for labor-slavery, the greatest contributor to a planet-destroying Surveillance Capitalism.

“We, leaders of diverse economies from every corner of the world, are united in our determination to forge a new global consensus.” Translation: We’re scared shitless of China and it’s progress while we were playing the failed game of empire building, a name we’ve foresworn in favor of global consensus with, of course, our British, French and American international leadership.

“A top priority is to continue ambitious reform of our system of multilateral development banks, building on the existing momentum.” Goldman Sachs will be overjoyed to hear that. Since its single-handed destruction of Greece, it’s been looking for ways to enhance both its reputation and bottom line.

The axiom is, if you can’t solve your own problems at home, give a little advice to the neighbors

This outrageous conglomeration of heartless and self-serving chicanery, stuffed into a bottle and cast into the global oceans of the world best befits the staggering decline of Western influence throughout nearly all free nations. It can be fairly said that we worked hard at that decline, bluffing and blundering our way against the inevitable tide of public opinion.

The West once knew how to dominate the conversation, if not the battlefield. But we have abandoned too many friends, lied too many lies and shown ourselves to be unreliable when push comes to shove. It’s a sad truth that we Americans, among all nations, have been quick to put push on the line of late and found wanting when the time comes for shove.

America, Britain and France all had their times of intellectual, military and philosophical dominance

God willing (for those who believe in such nonsense), those intrinsic human verities may yet reappear and take hold in a world of rising fascism. But that is not a given fact and recent tendencies in all three nations lean in negative rather than positive directions.

There is time, but not much, hope, but very little and determination, but it fades day by day.

An open letter, with promises stuffed into a bottle and thrown with wild abandon into a sea of troubles

I don’t know the authors of this multi nation manifesto, but it must have been created by a food-fight throwing adjectives at a dartboard. Without danger of being laughed at by the world at large, nations can only lead by power, truth and conviction. Lacking these qualities, the open letter is too long, without central theme and promises too much, with little hope of being taken seriously

Truth and conviction aside, in a search for power among the dozen or so signatories, Sunak is meaningless since Britain left the European Union, Macron holds France by little more than force of fingernails and Biden is in the middle of an election (still 17 months distant).

Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Union, who actually has both power and a reputation for truth and conviction, should have simply known better.