The Climate Anxiety Social Construction, By James Reed
Climate change anxiety is one of the latest trendy fads to be engulfing the West, and making more profits for psychologists. It is hardly surprising that young people, who are fed a steady diet of climate change extremism from school to university with the narrative that the world as they know it is coming to an end because of Western lifestyles, should be anxious. But, it does not stop here, as a recent article, "To Fix Climate Anxiety, We First Have to Fix Individualism," from the Los Angeles Times, puts the blame for this upon individualism! By that it is meant personal freedoms.
The argument is that is personal liberty which leads to unconstrained bad consumer choices, which increases carbon emissions. Individuals simply do not know best, but governments, and the New Class elites do, and if people would just surrender their annoying freedom they would be on the road to ecological salvation! This is a version of the World Economic Forum's "you will own nothing, and be happy." Of course, the goal of the globalists is that you will own nothing and be unhappy, before being destroyed. The elites, as shown by Covid, cannot be trusted at any level, from the top down to the doctors, to the academics. All must be treated with extreme caution, especially climate change manic journalists!
"Oh, the elites are at it again, folks. They've figured out that the real reason you're lying awake at night, sweating over whether the world will combust in a fiery climate apocalypse isn't because of their fearmongering, but because of—wait for it—individualism. That's right, in this gem from the Los Angeles Times, the author wrings their hands over the scourge of "climate anxiety" and, of course, traces it back to the root of all evil: the fact that you still value your personal freedom.
This masterpiece of neurotic nonsense, titled "To Fix Climate Anxiety, We First Have to Fix Individualism," (behind a paywall), is peak elite navel-gazing. Let's break down their neurotic argument and laugh at their complete inability to function outside their groupthink bubble.
The Anxiety Industry: The Left's New Favorite Hobby
First, let's talk about climate anxiety, the latest designer disorder that's sweeping the liberal elite like avocado toast. In case you haven't heard, it's what happens when your climate virtue signaling turns into full-blown panic attacks. People are losing their minds because they've been bombarded for years by end-of-the-world rhetoric from media, politicians, and activists who'd have you believe that every breath you take is choking Mother Earth to death.
Just knowing that climate change is getting worse can trigger serious psychological responses. And the shock and trauma are all the more great if you've already had to live through the kinds of disasters that keep the rest of us up at night.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-09-11/climate-anxiety-essay
According to this article, people are feeling "anxious" about the climate, and naturally, the solution is not for them to step back and take a rational look at things—no, no, the solution is to dismantle individualism. Because of course it is.
Blaming Individualism: The Left's Favorite Boogeyman
The article opens with the dramatic claim that "climate anxiety can't be fully addressed until we confront the toxic ideology of individualism that underpins it". You read that right. If you're feeling uneasy about the planet, it's not because of the endless climate alarmism or the fact that these elites have been screaming "we have 12 years to save the Earth" every year for the last 30 years. Nope, it's because you still stubbornly believe in your right to live your life without being micromanaged by bureaucrats.
"One huge reason why climate anxiety feels so awful is this feeling of not being able to do anything about it," Ray said. "But if you actually saw yourself as part of a collective, as interconnected with all these other movements doing meaningful things, you wouldn't be feeling this despair and loneliness."
The trick to fixing climate anxiety is to fix individualism, she said. Start small, tap into what you're already good at, join something bigger than yourself.
And by fixing individualism, as many young activists like Patel have already figured out, we just might have a better shot at fixing climate change.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-09-11/climate-anxiety-essay
Apparently, individualism—yes, that awful notion that you have autonomy over your own choices—is now considered "toxic." Forget that individualism is the cornerstone of free societies, personal freedom, and, oh yeah, human achievement. In the world of the eco-left, it's now the villain in their ongoing climate horror show.
A Neurological Condition? Please
What's more laughable is how they frame climate anxiety as a mental health crisis akin to depression or PTSD. They write about it like it's an epidemic of post-traumatic stress from people being bombarded by all those horrible individual freedoms. I mean, seriously? The real crisis here is that people have been indoctrinated into believing that they're responsible for saving the entire planet every time they use a plastic straw or don't recycle perfectly. This is what happens when you raise a generation to believe that everything they do contributes to the imminent collapse of the world's ecosystems.
The Author's Prescription: Collective Climate Neurosis
So, what's the solution according to these enlightened minds? Naturally, we need to get rid of this pesky idea that you have any individual rights or freedoms. The article practically celebrates the idea that if we can only get everyone to think collectively, like good little comrades, the anxiety will melt away.
It pushes the idea that "individualism places all the responsibility on each of us to act, making it impossible to live up to expectations, creating a cycle of guilt, shame, and paralysis". Oh, poor babies! The very same people who lecture us about reusable shopping bags and meat-free Mondays are now telling us that the crushing weight of their own guilt is our fault. Let's not forget who's been creating these unrealistic standards and then weaponizing guilt against anyone who doesn't fall in line.
But don't worry, they've got a plan! Their brilliant strategy is to embrace collectivism—because nothing says mental health like forcing people into a hive mind where the individual is secondary to the group. Yep, if you could just stop thinking for yourself and let the climate overlords run your life, you'd be so much happier. Or at least that's what the elites think.
A Reality Check for the Paranoid
Here's the thing: climate anxiety isn't a real problem; it's a manufactured condition, hyped up by a generation of activists, politicians, and media hacks who've been making a living by scaring the living daylights out of everyone. They're the ones who've been telling you the world is ending unless you stop eating hamburgers and driving your SUV.
The truth is, climate change is not an existential crisis, and certainly not one that justifies abandoning the values of personal freedom and individual rights. But for these people, it's not even about the climate anymore—it's about control. Every crisis, real or imagined, is an opportunity to chip away at your autonomy. And "climate anxiety" is just the latest weapon in that fight.
We hear so often today that climate change is the existential crisis of our time, but that dismisses the trauma and violence to all the people who have been fighting to survive for centuries. Colonization, greed and exploitation are inseparable from climate change, Uchendu said, but we miss these connections when we consider our emotions only through a Western lens.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-09-11/climate-anxiety-essay
Elites and Their Collective Fantasy
What really drives the article's insane conclusion is this ongoing obsession the left has with collectivism. They yearn for a world where nobody thinks for themselves, where your life is dictated by the enlightened few who, of course, know better than you. The article barely hides its disdain for the idea that individuals should be responsible for their own actions. Instead, they fantasize about a world where everything is a group project, and we all obediently march to the beat of the latest government decree.
According to them, if you weren't so caught up in your individual rights, you wouldn't be so darn anxious. Yeah, because nothing calms the nerves quite like having the state control every aspect of your life.
Their Real Goal: Control, Not Climate Solutions
Make no mistake, this isn't about fixing climate anxiety. This is about eliminating individual thought. The environmental elite knows that if they can convince you to surrender your personal freedoms for the "greater good," they can push through their agenda without resistance. They can introduce any policy—no matter how ridiculous, no matter how intrusive—because you'll be too busy trying to be a good little cog in their collective machine to object.
In the end, their whole argument boils down to this: your desire to think for yourself and live independently is making the planet worse and giving you panic attacks. So, naturally, the only way to fix the problem is to surrender your autonomy to the group. Because, hey, collectivism always works out great, right? Just ask Cuba or Venezuela how that's going.
Final Thought: Don't Fall for the Nonsense
Let's get real: climate anxiety is a product of indoctrination by a radical environmental movement that thrives on fearmongering. And now, instead of taking responsibility for the anxiety they've caused, they're trying to shift the blame onto your belief in personal freedom. It's absurd.
You don't need to fix individualism to "fix" climate anxiety. You need to fix the constant stream of doomsday propaganda that's designed to scare you into submission. The real mental health crisis isn't caused by climate change; it's caused by the relentless bombardment of apocalyptic messaging designed to make you feel guilty for existing. Don't let them fool you into thinking that giving up your individual rights will somehow make you feel better. The only thing that will do is make it easier for them to control you.
So, to the hand-wringing author and the climate anxiety brigade: Take a breath, grab a steak, and stop trying to guilt the rest of us into your collective neurosis. We're not buying it."
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