What shall we talk about?

 Last night at a quiet supper table, Christian said something to the effect that we no longer have politics to talk about. It’s true—we had lively discussions, mostly about what was wrong with the trump administration. Jacob asked penetrating and smart questions, forcing us to articulate our beliefs clearly. And then we won an election. I have visions of dinner tables across the country falling silent.

Social media is a new world too. I used to spend far too long prowling through comments. Two things have changed: fewer people are commenting on platforms like Facebook, and I have vowed not to respond to snark and lies and conspiracy theories. And that’s what mostly remains—the alt-right cannot stop complaining, rationalizing, attacking, and lying. Not worth my time. I will never convince such people of the folly of their thinking, and I’m not going to waste my breath trying.

And yet this is probably the wrong time to remain silent. Mid-term elections are in two short years, and the right is pulling out all the stops. Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, that awful Greene woman, and others are all over the internet, and we cannot, must not allow them to dominate the conversation. It is crucial for those of us who support President Biden’s agenda to put our views out there in a rational, nonconfrontational way. And for many of us that requires some education—it is no longer enough to post from an emotional, gut-wrenching fear of or dislike of trump.

Christian’s take on it is that he wants to learn everything he can about the Keystone Pipeline that Biden has halted. I’ve been reading about it too. Like pandemic and almost everything in our country, it comes down to the pull between the environment and humanity vs. profits and jobs. The Keystone, so I read, transports sand tar, which is dirty oil, for shipment to China, I believe. It is not destined for the U.S. but crosses our lands, including sacred native lands and those with depleted water supplies. When it leaks, it fouls water and is difficult to impossible to clean.

Constructrion of the pipeline has created jobs, lots of jobs, but the completed line will create only 35 permanent positions. Meantime the oil is transported by truck and water, which creates thousands of jobs. Once completed a pipeline would eliminate those jobs. So it’s a question of who is employed. Finally, I read a cogent article that suggested that the pipeline was an idea whose time came fifteen years ago. Today it is an anachronism.

My take on it is that we must, we absolutely must put the environment above all else. The doomsday clock is far too close to midnight, and President Biden has wisely recognized this, re-installing the many environmental regulations trump cancelled. We have to learn to live in a new world and stop looking to old models for answers. Jobs lost can and should be balanced out by creation of new jobs in a clean energy industry, but such doesn’t happen overnight, and the transition will be tough. Meantime we will have to help those citizens who are caught between.

Finally, I read the suggestion that the Keystone Pipeline is another way to enrich oil companies. You think? I’ll keep reading, but I am definitely leaning in support of Biden’s cancellation of the project. And rejoicing with the tribes who have fought against it for long, dry years.

Guess we’ve got something to talk about at dinner tonight.