Denying Reality

WE RESIST THE TRUTH, said Goethe, only because we fear that we would perish if we accepted it. Not knnowing the truth may be foolish and ignorant; knowing it and denying it is criminal, said somebody else. America's health is compromised by the widespread denial of at least two undeniable realities; the reality that Trump lost the 2020 election to Biden, and widespread denial of the reality of climate change. You keep expecting both of these falsehoods to vanish into thin air. Instead they linger, and threaten to permanently embed themselves inextricably into the fabric of the American narrative. What, precisely, does this unfortunate phenomenon reveal, morally, psychologically, intellectually, about the people, both individually and as a society, who promulgate these falsehoods? Why do the folks wo claimed that Trump won in 2020 still, for the most part, claim it? And how much longer will climae change denial exist? When the Earth's atmosphere is full of carbon dioxide at a temperature of two hundred degrees? There are many more instancs of mass societal delusions, historically, and present day. It seems no less amazing that a high percentage of the population refuses to accept obvious reality of human by natural selection, preferring to remain safely ensconced in the warm, comforting womb of religious indoctrination and mythology. Mass denial of Trump's election loss, as well as denial of Trump'smany crimes and lies, is quiteobviously the most morally repugnant, since it involves tens of millions of people embracing a common lie, simply becuse, as individuals, they feel safely protected by the sheer number of people who embrace it. The moral bankruptcy of so easily, conveniently abandoning the foundational moral precept of honesty, so essential to civilized humanity, in the service of petty pride or emotional satisfaction. Refusing to believe in climate change and evolution may be more forgivable from a moral stand point; after all, evoluton, no matter how obvious, strikes a serious blow to the very foundations of the deepest held, most sacred, cherished beliefs of billions of ofpeople. And yet,denying scientific reality is, in some ways does farmore harm to humanity than merely making a ridiculous,outlandish claim about a political election. Denial of evolution in favor of Adam and Eve has a certain charming, humorous undertone, without doing any direct,tangible harm. Not so with climate change denial. The world is years, even decades behind where it(we) should be with regared to fighting and successfully dealing with the Earth's collapsing ecosystem. And make no mistake; the air, Earth, and water of this planet are in deadly peril, degrading rapidly, because of human activity, and only human activity can reverse this. We as a supposedly intelligent species simply failed to recognize and acknowledge the problem soon enough. The price we are paying now will only increase. People seem surprised to learn that scientists have known about climate change for two centuries, that it was written about in the early nineteenth century. The price we are paying for decades of denial is now becoming alarmingly apparent, and will only accelerate. This reality cannot be overstated. What blow'sone's mind is the very simple, stark reality the vast abunddance of neeedless suffering we inflict upon on ourselves only because of our preference for escape from, rather than embrace of...simple reality.