Last night, as I drove a friend’s truck back from Kissimmee, wildfire smoke filled the cab and I again reflected upon the words of James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia Hypothesis and progenitor of the Global Warming theory. Dr. Lovelock long ago predicted that as global warming increased, we would experience more forest fires, they in turn releasing more carbon, fueling even faster global warming in an ever-accellerating cycle.

You would think that even if one didn’t believe in global warming, that common sense still suggests we ought to take care of our planet. Wrong. One of my best friends can’t get enough of ‘talk radio’, which insists global warming is a plot to ruin America brought about by [choose one or more]:

communists, anti-American Americans, liberals, neo-conservatives, left-wing elements, Log Cabin Republicans, Chinese, anti-business interests, senile scientists, embittered scientists, the French, Al Gore

Political hosts such as Neil Boortz and Sean Hannity have assured my friend that global warming does not exist, and even if it does, Al Gore caused it.

My friend taped a Glenn Beck special for me, ostensibly proving that global warming is a myth. With my background in science and engineering, I watched it with interest and the same slow-motion horror when you see a car crash about to happen. With patience, I explained that a degree in political science does not make the holder a real scientist. I explained that a petition Beck referred to had become a discredited political embarrassment to its perpetrators. I explained that government-appointed scientists weren’t exactly impartial (Remember James Watt and “trees cause pollution”?) and that even if only 1% of the planet’s scientists disagreed with majority opinion, that’s still several hundred that could be cherry-picked for television interviews.

Dismayingly, when talk radio hosts are caught lying, they dismiss detractors by claiming they’re merely entertainers, shielding themselves of responsibility and libel suits. Yup, in his day Torquemada was entertaining, too.

This kind of political programming creates a false geopolitical landscape that many people believe is real, a ‘fictional reality’. Because of blatant disinformation, listeners risk knowing less following talk radio’s political reality ‘shows’.

Some of our fellow writers have the talent to create a counterbalance, a realistic fiction. One of the deeper uses of fiction, for good or ill, is to build stories in which we can explore ideas and outcomes and yes, even morality tales. They are entertainment, yes, but they also provide an opportunity ponder.

• What if the worst predictions of global warming come to pass, turning the planet into desert? Frank Herbert’s Dune could be instructive.
• What if the opposite happens, and melting ice caps flood large parts of the planet? Some would look to Kevin Costner’s WaterWorld, others to the Biblical Noah.
• What might be one of the efforts to save part of the eco-system? Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running offers a suggestion or two.
• What if the government knew all along that global warming was inevitable? Alternatively, what if global warming was a hoax perpetuated by a consortium of scientists? Any number of conspiracy stories can yield theories to chew on.

In the greater scheme of things, these seem trivial. Yet, stories can inform, illuminate, and foster ideas.

That’s why words can be so dangerous.

T-Shirt Obscenity

Even a few simple words can move governments to acts of extreme censorship. Arizona will be the third state (following Oklahoma and Louisiana) to ban the sale of a T-shirt. Federal legislation was introduced during the summer of 2006 to outlaw this shirt nationwide. Apparently, politicians agree that the shirt’s point is mightier than the sword.

The T-shirt contains four four-letter words. You may be thinking these words are on George Carlin’s obscenity list. You’d be wrong. It’s a simple, anti-war slogan, much less outrageous than Vietnam’s “Nixon: Pull out like your father should have.” To me, war is the most extreme obscenity, but those we’ve elected fail to understand that the spirit of America embodies the right to challenge our government, right-headed or wrong-headed as we may be. We don’t need our civil liberties to be yet another war casualty.

I deliberately have not included pictures of the shirt because the purpose of this article is moral, not political. I am, however, pleased to add that both liberal and conservative friends expressed outrage against this legislated affront to one of our most precious civil liberties, the freedom of speech to say what needs to be said. It’s a pity talk radio doesn’t have the guts to do the same.

An ancestor, Mark Twain, author of The War Prayer, wrote, “None but the dead are permitted to tell the truth in this world.”

Perhaps not, but until then, even as we write fiction, we must strive for … Truth.