The young man stood up in the back of the crowd at one of Senator John McCain's many small town stops. "Senator McCain, what are you going to do about DHMO?" the young man questioned. Quickly McCain's security detail moved in, escorting the young man out of the venue. "It's killing our children!" the man shouted repeatedly as he was forced out the door. John McCain ignored the disruption just as he and the Republicans have ignored any environmental issues throughout the campaign. But what is DHMO and why do the Republicans try desperately to keep it off the list of campaign issues?DMHO is the acronym for Dihydrogen Monoxide. A substance that is so toxic a thimble full can kill a child. In fact, it is the leading cause of death of children under 4. Despite this fact, it is an ingredient in manufactured soft drinks, soups, and dozens of other products sold throughout the U.S.. However, the dangers of DHMO do not end with it's consumption.
Dihydrogen Monoxide, also known as hydroxyl acid, is the main component in acid rain. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage in humans and in animals. It contributes to the "greenhouse effect" which is warming our planet and quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in every stream, lake, and reservoir in America as well as in the rivers, streams, and lakes around the entire globe. It kills thousands yearly, while Republicans shove millions of dollars of lobbyist contributions in their pockets to keep it legal.
So who benefits the most from DHMO? Mostly, it's companies like Coca Cola. Since adding DHMO to it's products, Coca Cola has seen their profits rise exorbitantly. It now accounts for a full 1/3 of all their profits. But it's not only the soft drink industry that fattens the pockets of politicians, it's also industries that produce products like automobile coolants, solvents, fire retardants, Styrofoam, pesticides and too many more to even list.
The Earth is our mother and if we don't make an effort to stop the politicians (mostly Republicans) from receiving lobbyist monies to ignore this problem, I fear it may soon be too late.
There is a lesson here that needs to be learned. Research for yourself the dangers of DHMO and of remaining ignorant. Understand that we are all constantly being manipulated by people who use fear mongering and our lack of understanding of the problems to push us toward policies that make no sense. Is DHMO a major problem? Yes, but more so because we don't take the time to even know what we are supporting, or opposing. H.C.
14 comments:
i have to admit this is the first time i have even heard of the stuff. do you have some recommended links?
Hey Lime,
The lesson here is how easily an issue can be manufactured even though it's not really even an issue. By manipulating the facts (although all true)we can all be decieved into thinking something is far more dangerous than it really is. While dihydrogen (H2) monoxide (0) is dangerous, we certainly shouldn't be banning it. Sorry for the deception, I fell for it too.
LMAO, ya got me. can you tell chemistry was not my strong suit in school?
Hey Lime,
No worries, that periodical chart had me running for the exits too.
It's all reciprocal. Life expectantcy in America seems to increase every year with scientific advances. Yet Dateline introduces another common ingredient every week to scare people into thinking it's gonna kill them. Maybe some of the stuff is dangerous, but I think much of it has to do selling newspapers.
Hippie,
I think the problem here is twofold:
(1) The GOP refuses to see anything as a threat unless it has darker skin and speaks Arabic, and...
(2) That the delivery of a message often tends to invalidate the message itself. One of the reasons why groups like PETA and Code Pink fail in their delivery is because they often take the elitist, whiny, and snob-like approach to addressing their issues. The person you mentioned in your post didn't likely come at McCain in a civil manner. To get escorted away for asking a question suggests to me that there was more to this than just a simply inquiry. The guy was probably trying to be confrontational and obnoxious.
For me, the meat of the message (no pun intended) is far too important for liberal, environmentalist types to come across as snobby in their presentation. Perhaps conservative screws would be more likely to listen if liberal nuts weren't so condescending with their messages. I mean, you yourself indicated that the Dems are shooting themselves in the foot by how they are attacking Sarah Palin. Attacking her values; attacking her conservative ties, etc. Loud and outspoken protestors are really no different.
Hey Tabor,
Your right on the money. A lot of the rhetoric out there is designed to get you to "tune in for the rest of the story." I.E. "Storms of the Century" that seem to happen every couple of years. By exagerating the problem they get you more fired up to defend your candidate or policies against the evils of the other side. People don't get that motivated when they hear "If the U of M affirmative action policy is overturned they may have to commit more money to outreach programs to maintain their minority enrollment." They are motivated by, "The people involved in overturning U of M's A.A. policy want to return to the days of slavery and no women's rights." Unfortunately, these tactics work. Fear motivates, even irrational fear.
Hey Dre,
You do realize that this story is entirely fiction, right? Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is water (H20). The point here
is that I can vilify something that is relatively harmless into something dreadful simply by attaching it to something your already suspicious of (in this case, Republicans and McCain) and by manipulating the facts. The young man in the story was based on reports I had heard of people yelling out "What's the truth behind 9/11!" and other conspiracy theories at current candidates forums and then being lead off screaming. Supposedly some college kids do this with DHMO as a joke so I morphed the two together. That was the "meat" of the story, that we need to be careful what we believe to be the truth, especially when it's based in the truth but in a deceptive way. Sorry if I misunderstood your point or for my deception.
hi H.C.,
my initial thought was the old saying "what you don't know can kill you" is true. then i read the comments and understood what you were doing.
however, i saw on the news early this morning about the compound melamine, that was found in babies' formulas in Beijing which has made thousands of babies sick, and a few who have died from drinking it. people feel China knew this, but kept it quiet because of the olympics. how sick!
even though your example wasn't a real one, the formula issue is, and we can still see how manipulation still plays a role. we can easily believe a lie and turn it into truth, or believe truth and turn it into a lie or simply try to hide the truth, which is still a lie. hope that makes sense.
True, very true H.C. Irrational fear definately motivates and serves its purpose. Just ask George Bush how he got elected twice.
Hi Heiress,
It's good to hear from you again. I hope everything is going better than the last time we talked. (some time ago) I also heard about the melamine story. My first reaction was that it couldn't possibly be true. Who would put something so dangerous in baby formula just to save a few dollars. It sounds strange, but I thought that asian culture was based so much on integrity and honor that it had to be untrue. But I guess it just goes to show that their is evil in all of us.
Hey Tabor,
Bush using fear? I'm shocked. Thanks, now I've lost my faith in humanity. If I can't trust the neo-cons, who can I trust?
"You do realize that this story is entirely fiction, right? Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is water (H20)."
So I'm officially crowning myself the dumbest person ever. Move over Dubya. I'm apparently the new unintelligentified person on the block.
*Runs away weeping like a baby*
Hey Dre,
As dumb as Dubya? Not even if you had a lobotomy and a stroke and a brain aneurism all on the same day. Even then, I would bet on you in a debate. We'll just chalk this up to 'ol H.C. learning some nasty tricks from watching politicians. Once again, sorry to be deceitful, but some points require demonstrations.
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