Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) recently declared that the government can modify the weather. She then implied that the Biden administration controlled the weather and used Hurricane Helene to punish political enemies. Rather than back down, she characteristically repeated the claims in subsequent public statements.
Her claims received intense critique, including extensive public mockery. Indeed, they should have, for her claims are baseless. Yet they also reveal a broader longing we experience as a society and as individuals. This longing affects how we view politics.
We deeply want complete control over what happens to us. We fear that which lies beyond our power. We also find it threatening morally, an affront to our cherished freedom. We see things beyond our command as a kind of tyranny.
Thus, in a strange way, it would be reassuring if we found out that human beings could control the weather. Of course, people could abuse that power, as Greene suggested, as “they” (whoever that is) had. One could direct such a power against enemies, whether political, religious, social, or racial. However, it also would mean that humans had the capacity to command and, thus, limit or even eliminate weather events. It would mean we had it within ourselves to end events that damage property and kill citizens.
In other words, it would mean we had control over nature. We would merely need to reassert control over politicians, bureaucrats, or other nefarious persons acting outside our democratic command and outside of the common good.
We do not have such control. Sure, we can mitigate elements of the natural world. We can predict oncoming weather to allow people time to seek shelter or evacuate before a hurricane, tornado, or other weather event occurs. We can build structures to stand a chance to withstand these weather events when they come. For more day-to-day situations, we can install air conditioning and heating systems to limit the danger of extreme heat or cold to human beings.
However, we cannot generate, eliminate, or even intrinsically modify these weather events. We must be reminded that some things remain beyond our power to control. People still die from accidents, disease, and, yes, natural disasters. Many of us still feel the helplessness that accompanies experiences beyond our ability to determine.
No human hand could have stopped Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton. When we think we can overcome these elements entirely, we treat ourselves like gods. When we accuse our political enemies as if they are so capable, we treat them the same. It makes us think too much of human power and, thus, too much of the good and evil within our and our political opponents’ command. It contributes to the bitterness of our partisanship and our distrust of those around us.
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These truths do not excuse us from doing our best with what remains within our power. While our government does not possess the god-like power to control weather systems, it does have the power to participate in protection and recovery. Our national government has failed spectacularly in that effort so far. We should hold it to account for those failures and the real damage done to lives and homes.
We also must relearn our limits. We must realize anew that there is only so much possible in our politics and in our lives. In that spirit, let us not try to be more than is possible but strive to be the best we can be. The best we can be is to uphold truth, pursue justice, and love our neighbor. We especially must do so now in the midst of these natural disasters and the hurting people left in their wake.
Adam Carrington is an assistant professor of politics at Hillsdale College.