The definition of controversial

It’s only controversial
if someone might be deposed
The one who might lose power
is the one who is opposed

It’s only controversial
when the cash cow’s growing lean
For money’s all that matters
all else said is just smoke screen

It’s only controversial
when the golden goose is sold
For status quos entrenched for years
won’t give up their stronghold

It’s only controversial
when the truth might be revealed
Control depends on lies
and all the liars’ lips are sealed

So, is it controversial?
Seek the facts behind the memes
There’s a battle for supremacy
that’s what it really means!

I had a chat yesterday with a documentary producer working on a story about Super Typhoon Yutu for the BBC Earth series (see community query below). He mentioned that, these days, many people in the U.S. are reluctant to say, as I did, that “the typhoons and storms seem to be getting more frequent and more severe due to global warming” given the controversy over that topic.

I told him there is no debate. There is no controversy. The so-called debate is all contrived. I once read a quote to the effect that the word “controversy” is really a euphemism. It really means someone’s position of power or source of money is being threatened. Whenever you hear about a “controversial” new this or a “controversial” new that on the evening news, all you need to do to understand what’s really going on is ask yourself, “Whose power is being threatened?”

For example, “controversial alternative therapies” threaten the medical establishment’s and pharmaceutical companies’ financial power. “Controversial” meat substitutes threaten the beef council. “Controversial” labeling of soybean beverages as soy “milk” threaten the dairy industry.

How do we know this is true? Well, people have been using home remedies for centuries. Meat analogs (think “tofu burger”) have been around for decades. It only became “controversial” when market share of products like BeyondBeef increased and sales of the new product started to threaten the profits of the established order. Then, suddenly, all sorts of “controversy” appeared!

Despite what those opposed would have you believe, their opposition has nothing to do with concern over public confusion by labeling. It has nothing to do with the FDA’s concern for health and safety. (If that were the case, then MSG would have been banned from supermarket shelves decades ago!)

It’s purely a battle for market dominance and supremacy.

Oh, and for the record, one of the main reasons that climate change is being contrived to be “controversial” is that once you admit that it’s real, then you are obligated to seek a solution, and the solution—controlling emissions—means cutting back the expansion and profits of industries that contribute to that warming by burning fossil fuels, cutting down rain forests and livestock farming. That’s the simple reason that certain segments of the population—those who benefit from these industries—oppose the concept. It’s about a loss of power. (The other subset of society opposed to admitting the truth of climate change are the very religious who believe that they take “power” away from God’s omnipotence to admit that humans are causing climate change.)

So, from now on, listen carefully how that word is used in news broadcasts, and ask the right questions to figure out the truth!

COMMUNITY QUERY: By the way, do you have video of Super Typhoon Yutu? That producer I mentioned needs actual video taken while the storm was in force (Oct. 25, 2018, before 7am), not the aftermath. If you do, please contact me at walt@saipanliving.com and I’ll put you in touch with him. It could help bring a little more global attention to Saipan and our recovery efforts.

Walt Goodridge is author of over 24 books and conducts workshops to help others turn their passion into profit. Learn more at www.waltgoodridge.com. Walt’s Friday LIFE RHYme #489. Full archive: www.liferhymes.com.