Power and Risk

by John Thompson

August, 2003

In the last week, those dog days of August when strange items make the news, a woman in California died of acute stupidity. This really isn’t newsworthy, but it is an easy way to die. This was in the same week in which over 50 million North Americans found the lights going out on them in our greatest blackout yet.

We all run some risks from random chance, and sometimes we will (voluntarily or otherwise) be presented with calculated risks… and then there are insane risks.

Going downhill skiing always has some degree of risk: You might have a traffic accident on the way there, there might be a rock under a patch of thin snow, or you may get hit by an errant skier. There are calculated risks — taking a run down a double black diamond slope would be an exhilarating test of an experienced skier’s skills, with the attendant rewards of an adrenalin rush and sense of accomplishment. Taking the same route blindfolded while playing a harmonica is insanely stupid.

Actually, the woman in California who died of acute stupidity was taking an insane risk. Evidently moved by a desire to become one with nature, she donned a wet-suit and went swimming among seals near San Francisco, when a large Great White Shark treated her to a fuller experience than she expected.

Anyone who watches the occasional nature documentary on television could have told her that Great Whites haunt the deeper water off seal rookeries and look for the dark silhouettes of unwary seals close to the surface and then lunge upwards with all the power these large carnivores can muster. I like closely observing animals too, but don’t wrap myself in decaying hamburger and honey and hang around rural garbage dumps when I want to see some bears. I also don’t ski down double black diamond slopes, especially when blindfolded and playing a harmonica.

No doubt this woman will soon be an entry in that prestigious list of those who "removed themselves from the human gene pool" through acute stupidity — the Darwin Awards. The Darwins are one of the most popular sites on the internet and mark the accomplishments of the truly stupid. There is the sad tale of the aspiring bungee jumper who used an 80 foot length of relaxed bungee cord to jump off an 80 foot high bridge; the Oklahoma boys who took some beer and pyrotechnics atop a giant gasoline storage tank for a little fireworks show (and got far more than they bargained on); or the late Toronto lawyer whose party trick in his law firm was to hurl his body at the 23^rd story window in his office tower to prove how "safe" it was.

The late Robert Heinlein, a science fiction writer who died of old age, once observed that the universe considered stupidity to be a capital offence, and would eventually deliver its judgment one way or the other. However, the universe is merciful — and does provide warnings like prominent double black diamond signs at the top of tough ski-slopes, nature documentaries on television, and lots of free advice to say that my choice of diet and shoddy exercise regime is not smart. If I pay closer attention to these signs, I might also die at a ripe old age.

We had a clear sign last week: After 30 years of funding environmental groups instead of new power plants; our lights went out. Gosh, who knew this could happen? When our governments become obsessed with social policies and our expenditures mount up on inconsequential items, both our legislators and electors forget to tend to critical matters — like minding our roads and power stations.

For over a century, we have built our lives and our communities around electrical power… one would think we should have been paying closer attention to where it comes from. But then, we also need to eat — and who pays attention to the farmers anymore? Or who wonders if it is such a good idea to pave cropland over for new subdivisions and strip malls? Since we decided to design our economies around the automobile, shouldn’t we be building more roads and be looking for ways to make them more efficient?

History has no Darwin Awards, per se, but our accounts are full of peoples who chose to ski down tough slopes blind-folded and playing harmonicas; or who wished to commune with nature only to find out that the sharks hang around with the seals. We should smarten up.

John Thompson is President of the Mackenzie Institute which studies political instability and terrorism. He can be reached at: mackenzieinstitute@bellnet.ca