situations . ( With rare exceptions ). This excuse is commonly used in the business and government world to save money . As money appears to be their driver , they clearly do not have the general population ? s interest at heart . Understanding and unity have been dismissed in the effort to preserve a minority ? s well-being , while tainting the well-being of the majority .
While it would be difficult to solve all our problems at once , we do need to address the more serious issues , namely those that have the greatest immediate impact upon life on our planet . And who knows , maybe someone has already found the solutions we require . What I do know is we must diligently work together to solve these intensifying issues . The quicker we do , the better off we will be .
An example of ? what we do to other life , we do to ourselves ? is the environmental issue of mercury poisoning . The damage mercury poisoning causes has been known for years and contamination is now extensive . Still , we have done little to stop it from continuing . Most of the mercury that enters the environment comes from man-made sources , coal-fired power plants being one of the largest , responsible for an estimated 40 percent of all domestic human-caused mercury emissions . Levels insufficient to poison an adult will damage a child ' s brain . Mercury poisoning in children leads to deficiencies in intelligence , attention and motor functions . Coal is plentiful and provides us with a cheap source of energy . It is regrettable , but to keep electricity costs down and to maximize corporate profits , coal-fired power plants have few pollution controls . While I used an environmental chemical poisoning example , our capacity to damage life on earth does not stop with chemical poisoning . There is a long list of unloving behaviors that affect life , which are not related to a by-product of manufacturing or energy production . Our actions cause damage ; overfishing , the clear-cutting of rainforests , child labor ( 164 million children ), sexual abuse ( 25 % to 30 % of all children ) and wars , to name a few .
Can you understand how our actions create concerns and animosity for many people ? Sadly , most of us have not bothered to explore these matters or even give them a second thought . Once again , we are putting our heads in the sand , hoping the problems will go away . While agencies and groups are trying to tackle these problems , few receive enough public support . The required actions to clean up our planet will cost corporations money and affect their bottom line results . As a result , corporations push our governments to tow the corporate line .
The fear-based propaganda used by the government and corporations is a tactic used to dismiss or interfere with measures to solve our issues . Their propaganda outlines the impact that controls and regulations have on the economy . Corporations and governments claim that it will cost billions to enforce pollution controls that would make our coal-fired plants safe , and that domestic companies will become less competitive with countries that do not put controls in place . They say it will lead to the loss of jobs . This is where we need to ask questions . What will these changes cost ? What impact will this have on energy costs for the average consumer ? How much do we currently pay for related medical costs and how much could be saved if fewer people were affected ? Is it acceptable to put money ahead of the health and welfare of human beings ? How many jobs will be created by putting pollution control systems in place ? What can we do to ensure no jobs are lost ? What other fears do we need to address ? When we ask questions , problems are placed into perspective and don ' t seem as insurmountable .
I will be honest with you ; I believe nationalism is a self-serving concept that does not work for the benefit of humanity . Nationalism and globalization are as different as fire and water . Nationalism breeds greed and animosity among nations . Throughout history countries have warred against each other , attacking their neighbors over territory , jobs , principles and riches . Nationalism has bred this same attitude in governments and business . Nationalism builds a weakened mentality into a population , which allows for easier manipulation through propaganda . While we think of propaganda as being used by others , I don ' t know of any nation that doesn ' t use it . For that matter , most political parties , religions and corporations leverage propaganda frequently for their benefit . To refresh your memory , propaganda is a form of communication ? purposeful persuasion ? that influences emotions , attitudes , opinions and actions of people for an ideological or self-serving purpose . This type of communication is largely used in the political arena , and by corporations and religions as well , but it does not provide objective information and at best provides selective facts if any at all . Propaganda is purposefully wielded to use Page our emotions 55 - February and , 2017 weaknesses to force us to agree with the speaker .