They Fiddle While We Burn

Each night, I watch the news in the hope that something ... is new. Each night, I see the RFS Commissioner describe horrific events or explain the level of destruction to a bevy of politicians & our so-called leaders. Why? Because he knows these things. He knows his stuff. He has built a career in crisis management & he knows how to lead swathes of 'amateurs' to bring some sanity back to this state.
Said politicians nod & make promises. That's it. Definitely nothing new. These are the politicians we elect time & again. They don't understand, they do nothing, they have no leadership skills, no firefighting skills, & they hope that we, the voters, those burning & choking, have short memories by the time the next election comes up.
I believe them. We do.
All of the denialists who said that there is no such thing as climate change because it's always hot in summer - or worse, point to a cold winter! All of the reactionaries who immediately denounce anyone with a scientific explanation for the changes to our environment that every farmer in the fields & person in the street can see (through the haze). All of the apologists who say it isn't their fault, so they can't do anything about it.
That's who we pick our representatives from. That's who makes our laws. That's who lines up to listen to Uncle Shane tell stories about the big bad & ever-blackening real world.
Must we? Must we put up with this, year after year, election after election?
Do we have to sit on our hands & hope that people like Shane can pull us out of the fire again? Do we have to hope that he's done all the preparation he can - not preparation to minimise the risk, or preparation so that we all understand what's going on, but the preparation to make his people ready to get out there & clean up this mess, to minimise the damage, to deal with the consequences of our decisions.
We decide to drive rather than walk or take public transport. We decide to throw out packaging that doesn't get recycled, or simply can't be recycled. We decide to waste water, throw out food, toss rubbish, & close our eyes.
We decide to recycle politicians so that, with a little bleach, they come out looking exactly the same.

Shane deserves a medal. He'll get one - but there'll be a smiling politician standing beside him, basking in the glow.