Thursday, February 7, 2008

Angry or Passively Hopeful?

I remember leaving the movie theatre after seeing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth with a distinct feeling of hope. I believe that he tried to instill hope in his audience, after shocking them with the reality of how we are destroying our earth, by reminding us that it's not too late for change. I remember thinking about what choices I could make to reduce my carbon footprint, and I remember thinking about which representatives that I would write letters to. Although I made some personal changes, such as recycling more often and combining errands in one car trip, I never wrote the letters. And, after watching Hot Politics, I’m glad that I didn’t waste my time and energy. Unlike An Inconvenient Truth, I was angry after watching Hot Politics. I think that this should have been the feeling conveyed at the end of Gore’s movie also. If more people were angry instead of simply hopeful, perhaps our sheep of a population would demand to hold our government accountable. We can learn something from the French about protesting. When three presidencies have failed to act responsibly about climate change, it’s obvious that our political system is broken.

I’m angry that the Bush administration found it necessary to censor and threaten our scientists. I’m angry that Cheney had secret meetings with energy companies. I’m angry that our political system is more focused on profits than the heath of its citizens (ie. air quality). I also do not think that in a Bush dictatorship that my letters (that would have asked Congress to make more green energy policies) would have made any difference. I’m angry that the US makes no sincere commitments about reducing CO2 emissions when we are responsible for a quarter of those emissions worldwide. Hot Politics makes its clear that the calls of the people (and some corporations) to implement consequences for CO2 emissions are not being heard by the administration. A group of people asking for a law to regulate themselves is not something that should be ignored, especially when their motivation is not money, but the greater good of other people and future generations. So, am I to be angry or hopeful or should I just move to Canada? Well, I’ll take the time table of the energy companies, and simply wait for the next election results before making my next move.

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