I Just Don’t Want to Know
The Death of Curiosity
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ― Isaac Asimov
Few want to know any “bad news”. Today I am challenging you to face the “bad news”. Can you see the “bad news” not as “bad” but simple like gravity, its just a fact to be dealt with.
These days if I watch the news I mostly hear gossip. Clearly people love gossip. Gossip is good. Gossip like the Epstein suicide and links to Trump and MAGA are good. Why? Gossip is a distraction from reality and what matters. News about Chinese dominance in the newest tech that matters is bad. Why is it bad? It makes us feel like we are losing. So what do we hear in the American news? Lots about Epstein and next to nothing about Chinese tech superiority.
This not wanting to face the tough parts of life is totally normal in any Empire in decline. During the decline phase Empires, and people, become self absorbed and lose touch with reality outside their bubble. And then their bubble collapses. POP! And they wonder why…. Who did this to me? Who is the ‘bad guy’?
I have tried to bring up difficult topics like nanoplastics or the CDN forest fires so we can better understand why they are happening and what we can do about it…. No luck. I thought perhaps that if the topic was more local and personal it might resonate with my family or friends. Nope. They just don’s want to know. One person told me, after we were talking about how car manufacturers in North American better figure out how to make a cheap electric cars [or lose a lot of jobs] to compete with cheap Chinese Evs, that I was depressinng him and wondered why I was not depressed reading about negative news like that. Quite honestly most people I talk with only want to know about happy, fluffy or gossipy news about Taylor Swift or gossip about the by election in Alberta with Polievre where there are 108 candidates. If I say anything about a difficult topic they quickly ask tell me to shut up or they quickly change the topic. I wonder what happened to the old saying that once described our culture:
When the going get tough the tough get going.
No longer. I saw the decline of this attitude as a High School teacher over the past several decades. When I started teaching most kids rose to a challenge but by the time I retired most kids were overwhelmed by any real challenge and just gave up. I believer that something in our society has overwhelmed folks and also made them feel helpless – that there is nothing of significance they can do to change anything. Now while this is generally case I am happy to report that there are exceptions to this Rule: namely the “Buy CDN” and “don’t travel to the USA” movement to boycott all things American. People are feeling empowered to act and they are doing something and it is having an impact. So there is still hope: it just take an existential threat like a President saying: “I am going to make you the 51st State” to get people moving.
So, here a test to see if you the kind of person who gets going when the going gets tough. Read a bit of each of these stories and see whether it depresses you/makes you anxious/makes you feel helpless OR if this information spurs you to ACTION. There is saying I really like: HOPE IS ACTION. So let’s see what you are made of. Figure out what you can DO in response to each headline and then DO IT!
Extreme weather caused by climate change is raising food prices worldwide
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/business/food-prices-climate-change-intl
Cannabis Use Linked to Epigenetic Changes
https://www.sciencealert.com/cannabis-use-linked-to-epigenetic-changes-study-shows
Will smoky skies be the new normal?
The death of curiosity and innovation
https://www.media.mit.edu/articles/the-death-of-curiosity/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQRyYfsbJQY
World thought leader shifts from USA to China
China leads the US in the research of 37 out of 44 critical technologies https://www.techspot.com/news/97802-china-leads-us-37-out-44-critical-technologies.html
https://electrek.co/2025/07/21/11000-chinese-ev-with-solid-state-batteries-coming-soon/
https://www.policycircle.org/world/chinese-technological-leadership-vs-us/
https://www.wired.com/story/how-china-became-tech-superpower-took-over-the-west/
Clearly our society has become less dynamic. One sign of this is that it is in denial of the reality of ecological collapse. Another is that China is now leading the USA in many critical technologies. Another is the Trump Tariffs as tariffs are usually a sign of weakness. Another is the CDN goal of becoming an “Energy Superpower with Fossil Fuels” at a time when that technology is on the way out. Some would say part of this is the acceleration of the have/have not divide – and I would agree that this is a driver of our society losing its edge. But there is another, more insidious driver happening inside us. As we spew toxins in the world those toxins enter our bodies and affect our biochemistry and also the health of our brain cells and our immune system. It turns out that unhealthy food and chemicals like nanoplastics & PFAs affect the bacteria population in our guts, which affects our immune system and then affects our brain cells as these three are closely connected.
Study finds new cause of Parkinson’s disease & new treatments
https://knowridge.com/2025/07/study-finds-new-cause-of-parkinsons-disease-and-new-treatments/
So what can you do about this? Advocate for the replacement of plastic with new non toxic materials and the banning of chemicals like PFAs and other endocrine mimikers. If you can afford it stop using plastics and any food wrapped in plastic and don’s use any materials with PFAs/BPAs. Do you own research on keeping your mind healthy so you can ACT and do something about the mess we are in. Remember HOPE IS ACTION. So act. Yes, its a drop in the bucket, but like the current boycott of all things American it has impact when many of us act.
Leave a Reply