Here We Go Again

I don't like being cynical but c'mon, it is the only rational response to this upcoming COP 26. For months my comrades have all been treating it like the elaborate farce it is, based on past experience. Lowered expectations is a rational psychological ploy, to prevent dissapointment or even depression. I often use the example of the Charlie Brown football gag as an expression of pathological optimism in the face of harsh reality. He is running up to the ball as I write these words. Just like Charlie Brown, we now see the Climate Justice Movement mobilizing for actions in Glasgow. By "actions" I mean the usual fare; marches, counter-summits, civil disobedience, your basic protest playbook. Just like the past dozen or so COPs. Knowing full well that Lucy will pull the ball away at the last second, the attendees show up, acting AS IF they don't know. Puppets and banners, sign making workshops, counter-demonstrations and probably some tear gas, all covered by Amy Goodman, all live-streamed on UTube. The world burns because Joe Manchin. But seriously, he is the perfect symbol of why we are in such danger. A religious man, he believes in God and His Invisible Hand Guiding The Market. Charity to help the poor. Hard Work and, as Greta Thunberg eloquently puts it, blah blah blah. Sentimental Andy of Mayberry pablum structures the thought of this banal puppet for Capital, all condensed to this imperative; The American Way of Life Is Not Negotiable. In this sense he is just the unfortunate spokesperson for The System of political economy known as Capitalist Democracy. Within the strictures of this system, the only mitigation possible is that which doesn't affect the economy. So: more "bridge fuels", more innovative technology, more pledges, more lectures from John Kerry and Al Gore and Bill Mc Kibben. And yet we know the revolution will not be televised, the pipeline will not be stopped, the Land won't be given Back, the Police will not be Abolished. We know America will continue to worship its God and Mythology and dark, convoluted Fantasies till the moment the water rushes in, or the fire sweeps our streets, or the shelves just remain empty. I believe the best thing we could do is ignore the COP, just as we should ignore elections. Why promote and thereby legitimize the Spectacle? Don't make the sign, don't sign the petition, don't report on it (Amy), do something useful instead, like your laundry.