By meticulously probing between every innuendo and potentially offensive comment, we have been able to discover all the things that we absolutely cannot stand about one another in this Zeus-forsaken world of ours. This, of course, sketches a perfect blueprint for the construction of a Twin Towers' worth of explosive arguing when we should be thinking about ways of scraping our collective manure together.
So, let me inject -- directly into the aorta of the Mrs. Mia Wallace that is our Future Outlook -- an adrenalin shot of inspiration. I propose our first brand new coalition of the new political era be forged between two distinct groups towards a single fundamental ideal -- the fundamental ideal as far as I can tell-- the rescue of the environment in which we plan to live for more than a couple more centuries.
Now don't figuratively cast me into the tear-proof garbage bag with all your other recycled-paper solicitations from Sundance and the boys down at the NRDC, this is gonna be fun.
I'm proposing that the under-50 masses that consider themselves Environmentalists should let down their anti-Conservative guard as well as their ponytails. In my opinion, to save the environment, the Tree Huggers have to sit down at the table with the -- Gasp! -- Gun Nuts.
Anyone who has ever watched buffalo or elk graze in Yellowstone National Park, and I'm sure the ponytails number in the millions for this experience, ought to bend over and kiss the grass at the feet of the ghost of the gunslingin' 26th president of the good ol' U.S. of AAAA-mer'ca. Teddy Roosevelt showed that you can love the environment and kill things in the environment at the same time. He essentially invented the National Park. There are plenty of modern-day Teddys(ies?) exercising their Washington-given right to bear whatever arms they durn well please. Most of them just love to kill 'em some Furry Forest Creatures, but just so we're clear, many of them actually understand that for there to be FFCs (as no one calls them), there must be forests.
Without hunting, spear, bow or otherwise, there would have never been the protein rush that infused enough brain goo into our ancient ancestors ridged skulls to finally inspire them to Paint the Walls. Killing is part of life, and guns are the way we kill. We shouldn't be trying to disarm the public, we should be trying to keep educating them -- and learning from them.
Now certainly this also requires some understanding on Captain NRA's side as well, but I honestly believe if he's spoken to with the simple respect anyone should give any other human being, we could really get to work on saving at least one tree or two here or there. Just don't everybody go walking out there in November without your orange on.
To sum up, if these two groups could meet on some common high ground and demand the preservation of wild areas, then we could be well on our way to glossing over our other differences about things like prayer in school, 'Bortions, hom'sexyuls, and Sin's Original Recipe and its requirement of an Extra Crispy afterlife.
We don't have to focus on every difference we have in every conversation we have. We don't have to gauge each other's I.Q. based on a harmless turn of phrase or a particularly bold fashion choice. We can potentially find respect for both sides of an issue that truly has two (or 20) sides.
And then we can start working on ways of convincing each other that some things are just plain wrong.
3 comments:
To me the real threat is energy as a for-profit industry's unreasonable lack of effort to move beyond the fossil fuel economy and our system of living that is built around it. The industrial revolution moved beyond steam, and now it is time to move past oil.
A big influencer on a consumer level is the auto industry and the shipping/transportation sector as they promote cultural ideology like "the heartbeat of America" or the nostalgic ideals of route 66 and the "open road," or in the thought that you must have it overnight.
I hope that the failure of the auto makers will perhaps finally help them understand that they have to make products for the consumer's affordability interests and not their own "what will they buy" motives; perhaps Washington should require higher emission/fuel standards from them if they want bailout money or make GM produce a cheaper than predicted Volt or just subsidize it directly.
Oddly enough, the airline sector is pushing hard to solve its own problems, unlike the automakers since the automaker's product doesn't require them to also buy the fuel. Perhaps they have hit on one of the many solutions -
" The one remaining alternative for low-emission jet fuel that doesn't compete with agriculture is algae, which can be grown in ponds of seawater built on non-productive land. Given the right conditions, some species multiply quickly and produce oil, which can then be extracted and refined. It is widely agreed that such a system could take up less space and deliver much higher yields than oil crops such as palm or Jatropha - although quite how much higher is still controversial."
I have heard that a leading Israeli researcher has developed seawater ponds, actually enclosed tubes, in the desert that can double the algae content every 3-4 days... How ironic is that, that one potential solution is can be grown in deserts; ironic to me because the largest desert areas are once again in countries that hate us... or have many guns shooting at us, so to your point Glenn, we do need to get the guns on our side.
Momma nature is telling us to all get along.
Some interesting links :
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926691.700
http://www.examiner.com/x-1109-Dallas-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2008m10d13-Algae--the-new-jet-fuel
http://venturebeat.com/2007/04/27/secretive-silicon-valley-company-optisolar-builds-largest-solar-farm/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine
Hmmm,
You know I love a good flip side of your thoughts, it's why we congeal as friends. The real question here is why do pwople ignore the truth. I had an eleven year old ask me, "Well then Mr. Warren, how do we find the truth?"
From the mouth of a babe the real question leaps out. I had been bashing the dismerits of both candidates during the election and asking my students to not believe anything from me, but to search for their own answers.
Her question is eternal for all of us: what is the truth? It's why you blog Glenn. You seek it.
With a 97 percent illiteracy rate among our own population (only 3% of Americans read at least one book a year), how can the masses unite if they do not seek to educate themselves or see the "truth"?
The answer is what we chose to do as careers-- teach the new generation to seek the truth, not just repeat like parrots what we taught them with our own views.
Unity with the gun toters may be a path we are forced to follow as more and more of our people are given limited choices. You wrote that you are ready for the revolution on your "Last Mullet in Egypt" gift.
Freedoms are being taken away as our natural resources are eliminated. Hoard your topsoil, build your earthship, teach your students well. The revolution is here. "There Will Come Soft Rains" is not just a Martian Chronicle short story. We just gave the auto industry 10 billion dollars. What if we just split that dough up between each American and asked them to build an earthship, administering autonomy to each family?
The real problem you need to realize is that our new government seeks each individual to be tied to it. If we solved the real problem, government would have to lay itself off because we wouldn't need it so much anymore. We would truly be free.
It's not just the need to move past oil.
All this bailout shit and providing "healthcare for everyone" is a load of bullshit. Give me back all of my tax money, tell the fed to stop printing all of that damn money that lessens the dollar, and stop bailing out all of the assholes-- fuck the cars, and buy a horse and carriage. Let the revolution proceed.
Technology comes at too high a price. Let's keep the internet and communication, lose the need to protect interests in other countries. A focus on our own autonomy was what G Washington hoped we could emulate.
Perhaps a depression is what we need in all actuality, to balance the force. It's all out of kilter.
What happened to human communication? Storytelling by a fire? When is original thought going to return like long ago? Will we reach a new age where we don't even need cell phones or internet to communicate over long distances?
The real revolution will only happen when humanity returns. Oil dependancy is just a smoke screen. In a sideways way you guys are both correct---
The real question is when and how will we regain our humanity and reconnnect to the earth mama?
GEW
I hope it doesn't bother Glenn that the comments are more thoughtful and better written than his blog. Maybe you two oughta tone it down a little.
(Here's my personal theory - Solar is the answer. BUT if we pushed solar technology, then all them third world, equatorial, blank and brown people/nations would have all the power (electric and otherwise). And Loard knows we can't have black or brown people in power... what a minute. Perhaps there's "hope"?))
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