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Did You Not See The Memo?

from What If We Decide​.​.​.​? by Active Minds

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about

As the world’s climate is being dramatically damaged by human economic activity, and its poorest citizens struggle everyday to eke out even a meagre existence, some of the world’s richest men are obsessed with turning space travel into a pastime for those with too much money on their hands.
Like an eerie echo of the space race in the 1950’s and 60’s, when the USA and the USSR butted heads to try to show the world which one of them was superior, so these fatuous ego-maniacs like Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are intent on flexing their financial muscle to outdo one another in the race to put tourists into orbit.
It seems blatantly obvious to say that this behaviour shows a warped set of values – a mindset which is oblivious to the plight of the planet and its inhabitants. But it isn’t just the mindset of the super-rich that is warped – it is also the attitude of so much of the world, which not only accommodates this greed but also looks to the super-rich as role-models. How can these people be admired? We live in times where the damage caused by lives of excess are surely plain for all to see, and yet still these billionaires are not seen as the villains that they truly are.
The planet’s richest people have not accumulated the wealth they have without aggressively seeking to destroy competition and avoid paying a fair share of taxes. That is their basic modus operandi. That some of them then try to make out that they’re saints by setting up charitable foundations with their ill-gotten gains is adding insult to injury. There is nothing to admire in their overindulgent privilege. We need to see them for what they are - the supercharged epitome of the reckless selfishness which has endangered us all.

lyrics

Excuse me, Mr. Branson, but did you not see the memo
That said we only had twelve years to save the world
From catastrophic climate change?
Because on the news only a few weeks later I saw your smug little face,
Saying that you were winning the race
To send tourists into space.

So tell me, Mr. Branson, how does this help with what is needed?
How much damage will be done when you’ve succeeded?

Some people have more money than they know what to do with,
And will think nothing of burning thousands of litres of fuel
For a 15 minute trip.
We need to get a grip.

What further proof does anybody need
Of the price we pay to accommodate such greed?
What hope is there for the restraint that is demanded
When the ego has landed?

There’s no such thing as a selfless billionaire,
So we shouldn’t kid ourselves that they really care.
They’ve been indulged for far too long in their gross, selfish behaviours,
There’s no such thing as a selfless billionaire –
They aggressively seek far more than their fair share,
And yet now they try to present themselves as our future saviours.

And when the world looks on with such admiration
At those with personal wealth far greater than whole nations,
Then what hope is there for the restraint that is demanded?

credits

from What If We Decide​.​.​.​?, released December 2, 2022

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