May 27, 2020

Get Ready for Noisy Summer Nights — Compliments of ‘Mother Nature’

If it isn’t some new virus, or swarms of killer hornets newly arrived from Southeast Asia, it has to be another dread event to grab the attention of the mainstream media.

By William D. Balgord

If it isn’t some new virus, or swarms of killer hornets newly arrived from Southeast Asia, it has to be another dread event to grab the attention of the mainstream media.

National Public Radio recently reported on the soon-to-be re-arriving, and vociferous, 17-year cicadas, last seen and heard from in 2003. Sincere thanks to the NPR photo department for providing readers with a candid view of a live sample of the nocturnal insect that is more commonly seen in the form of an empty husk, following molting, left behind on the bark of a tree trunk.

It is not yet clear how many of us will be treated to the penetrating crescendos and de-crescendos as dusk falls on the summer evenings in 2020.

But of one thing we can be sure, some naysayers will treat the 17-year event as no better than a plague of locusts — and very unfairly, I might add.

The cicadas, to the best of my knowledge, do not inflict devastation on our crops and gardens as the true locusts (grasshoppers) are inclined to do, but they will chirp away far into the night, inspiring insomnia for some, but providing a soothing background of white noise for all those kind souls willing to let Mother Nature be herself amid the occasional haunting call of the whippoorwill.

I was a bit put off by the obligatory comment by the writer and NPR editors for allowing the following to remain in an otherwise informative article: “Their timing isn’t always exact. Some periodical cicadas have been seen years early; climate change may be a cause" (emphasis added).

What’s wrong with that? The media likes to see itself in the role of principal advocate for the popular cause. Reporters and editors cannot seem to help themselves whenever a juicy opportunity presents. They will reflexively put in a plug for the popular meme they know will frighten children and credulous adults.

But climate change is more properly understood as a natural succession of warming and cooling periods that have gone on since the beginning of time on our home planet — in cycles of years, decades, centuries, and longer.

So you can take your pick. Either it is Al Gore and his loyal minions who are to hold, or retake, sway over the hearts and minds of the voting public, or Mother Nature, which has a long-standing edge on the former vice president and now self-appointed headmaster in residence at the School of Catastrophic Climate Change.

William D. Balgord, Ph.D., is President of Environmental & Resources Technology, Inc., Middleton, WI, and a Contributing Writer with The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.