Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

The above words of insight and truth were written by Al Gore. And not this week, last month, or even last year. They were written in his bestseller, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit Chapter 13 Environmentalism of the Spirit/pg. 241, more than 15 years ago. They are important and timely words that still describe the behavior of humans today who chose to squander this Earth rather than save it even though they may know it is immoral. They are words written during a time when then Senator Gore was trying to get out the word on this crisis, and thought the political world would understand...and they didn't.

So again, the message of the movie, An Inconvenient Truth is not to just use it as a reason to call for Al Gore to run for office. That is a decision only he can make, as he has served this country well for over a quarter of a century, and to this day still does as a statesman, advocate, and a man who can now freely express himself on an issue that has been his passion all of his life.

The message is to take it upon ourselves to become a part of the change and solutions that will mitigate the most devastating environmental catastrophe we will experience as a species should we continue to play political games with the information being given to us rather than use it to create the sea change necessary to truly stop the spewing of the millions of tons of CO2 that enter our atmosphere everyday now... And that will not happen if we continue to indulge in our selfish obsessions without seeing our part in this process. No great change ever took place in this country without the grassroots efforts of people incensed, passionate, and dedicated to the cause they were fighting for in the face of great danger, yet great hope.

I have often wondered however, what makes so many people today still indifferent, even in the face of seeing the truth?

We know that indifference is not inherent in human nature because of the legacy the Native Americans left us and still practice today in their culture regarding respecting the Earth, and in other cultures around the world that revere the Earth for the life sustaining force it is. So is this indifference to the Earth indigenous in certain cultures? I believe the answer to that is a resounding yes. Notice that the United States whose people only make up about 4% of the Earth's population, burn the largest amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. What does that tell you about our principles? Our morals? Our culture? Our denial? We know man contributes to it and the damage it is doing to this Earth besides all of the pollution we make, yet it goes on because greed is more powerful than morality.

Is it necessary to burn the huge amounts of greenhouse gases that we do? Is it necessary to kill our waterways to the extent that we do? To pollute our air to the point that it causes asthma and other diseases to be more prevalent? To continue to push for nuclear proliferation knowing the fallout it could literally have for our world? To see the landfills and excessive amounts of garbage that pile up daily? No, but we do it anyway. We are a wasteful indifferent culture trained to believe that when it comes to our surroundings, responsiblity and morality are exclusive only to a chosen few. In this culture we are taught that to live for the moment is all that matters and that the future will take care of itself. And that must change.

And as Al Gore made reference to above, techological advances have pulled us away from what is truly important about our lives... living them. Were Americans always this way? No. As an agrarian society I believe we cherished and respected the Earth more because we actually used our hands to work the land. We were closer to the force that sustained our lives, and we then developed a close bond to that force. That's not to say that all technology is bad. Indeed, many of the advances in medical technology and other areas have contributed to doing great things for humanity. However, other technological diversions and living in crowded urban areas where nature is not known at all to so many has in my opinion made Americans cold towards that bond that we once shared with the Earth when we worked the land, and the repercussions of what I believe is one of the contributors to that current indifference: The Industrial Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s early 1900s brought great prosperity to this country... but at what price? The "second" Industrial Revolution dated around 1850 that brought us chemical industries, petroleum refining and distribution industries, electrical industries, and automotive industries, also brought along with it a crowding of urban areas which then produced poverty and pollution, and also a rise in carbon emissions from the burning of coal and other pollutants. Many would also argue that this new Industrial age didn't really bring anything good with it except for those who became wealthy from it, but that's another entry.

I wish to focus on what it did to us as human beings. How it changed our spirits. How it made us forget where we come from, and how that effects where we are today. For I believe it is that one event in history in America that helped lead us to the conditions we find ourselves in today, and it must be refined to the times we now live in. It is because of greed, globalization, and the mantra that we must be the biggest and best that has sacrificed our moral base and our environment. That is why it is heartening to read about companies that today are becoming more "green" in an attempt to have Americans who invest find a bit of that bond that was lost when the great progress we did find also caused us to have to pay a price for it.

For while I wholeheartedly believe in free markets and capitalism that are fair, I do not agree that it or any economic system should be allowed to get away with squandering our planet for its own benefit. I then also believe that greening industrialization (an oxymoron to many I suppose) at this point in time can give us the advantage of a prosperous culture along with regaining the respect we once had for the land that sustained us... The land we worked and loved.

This is truly the moral dilemma of our times, and it will require us as Americans to wean ourselves from this obsession we have with convenience at a price. And now, we are on a time limit. The warnings are clear. It is time to take back our planet. Thankfully we have environmental leaders like Al Gore and others to inform us, inspire us, and hopefully lead us to taking the necessary action required of US, because our planet needs us now...All of us.
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"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." ~Elwyn Brooks White, Essays of E.B. White, 1977
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