Al Gore Rhythms
So Al Gore wants us all to take a pledge, consisting of seven points of commitment, in the name of saving the Earth. Even the most generous interpretation of these pledge points bodes major and substantial shutdown of energy usage and industry, and only a fool could believe that these ideas are realistic, practical, and likely to be followed by the majority of Earth's population. So what the heck is Gore playing at?Those who have likened the modern environmental movement to a new religion have hit the nail on the head; a generation of confused and mechanically rebellious people - imbued since their teens with the notion that capitalism and industry are evil and should be overthrown - have nowhere to turn in their quest for inner peace, having rejected "organized" religion as some sort of cult. Without any awareness of the irony of their position, they worship at the altar of "organizing" when it comes to protests against anything that veers away from the course of socialism, or the oppressed minority du jour. (Remember when that oppressed minority was the Jews? Now that they've managed to create a homeland, they are the new oppressors!) Of course, the legacy of broken homes and broken families created by the enablers of self-righteous indulgence during the sixties has a major role in this, but that's an analysis for a different essay.
Such lost souls can find comfort and solace in radical environmentalism, as it pits them squarely against their arch-enemies - capitalism and industry. By indulging an image of American Indians as spiritual guides who lived in an earthly paradise until the arrival of the European settlers - completely ignoring the realities of tribal warfare and a scorched-Earth hunting and gathering existence - modern youth can imagine themselves as righteous saviors in a mystical battle between mother earth and evil businessmen. This feeds the spirituality need, while simultaneously giving an axe to grind against modern life in general.
Furthermore, there is an undercurrent of support for the notion that humans in general are bad for the planet, and economic development is an enemy, rather than a mechanism for alleviating poverty. For all the concern about "the poor" that we are lectured on, few seem to understand that progress by itself doesn't cause pollution.
So now we have the spectacle of Congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid - presiding over a congress with approval ratings LOWER than those of much-maligned President Bush - excitedly signing to Gore's pledge. What will they tell their blue-collar supporters, union members, and industrial laborers when those people are thrown out of their jobs in coal and other newly-condemned industries? It's another of life's great mysteries how the Democrat party continues to enjoy voter loyalty from this group while jamming government-sized screws directly in their behinds.
posted by ET @ 10:56 AM
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