It’s been a while since I have posted anything. The truth is – lately I felt that I couldn’t say anything that hasn’t already been said. I have been so amazed with President Obama and his cabinet appointees that I have lost myself in being an observer.
But last week things changed for me. Myself and two others from Greenpeace met with out local congressman to continue the work that we have been doing over the past year and a half. We were given a half an hour to discuss with him the issues at hand…legislation that calls for science-based solutions to Global Warming. It should have been pretty straightforward. We were prepared to give him our plan and ask for his support. He walked in and within one minute of salutations, he pulled the rug out from under us.
“You don’t need me – a Republican Congressman” he said. “You have a President that will put forth the legislation that will support the fight against Global Warming and you have 60% percent of the vote. You’ve already got everything that you need, you don’t need me.” For a moment I thought, “oh yeah, you’re right.” I looked at him and almost said, “Okay, thank you for your time.” But then it hit me…that’s not enough. I reminded him that no matter what his party affiliations are, he is still my representative and I expect him to represent me. We have been working so long to fight Global Warming that we have come to expect opposition when we ask for help. So when our congressman acts like the fight is over, I am taken aback.
In the United States, for the first time environmentalists are in a much better position than ever before. We now have a President and his cabinet that is receptive to science-based solutions and has brought alternative energy into the equation when it comes to repairing our economy and our Nation’s security. No longer are the problems of the environment treated as a separate problem that is dismissed because other things take priority. Our President and his administration realize that it all goes hand in hand.
So, do we sit back now and put our feet up for that long deserved rest? Let’s take a look at our history. When the oil embargo of the 1970’s ended and gas was aplenty, we did just that. We stopped worrying about our dependency on Foreign Oil and we allowed the big business to come in and quash all of our efforts to continue developing alternatives to our use of fossil fuels. We were thrilled that gas was available to us once again and that it was cheaper than ever. The fact that we were walking into a head-lock by the oil companies didn’t seem to matter. It also didn’t seem to matter that our money was being syphoned off to financially support the terrorists who would one day come here on our land to kill thousands of our citizens.
This is a financial game that is played by people who are so far removed from the every day homes of the American Citizen. And we give them that authority to parent us into the future because the game is something that is just too hard to comprehend. But it’s that mentality that has gotten us into the trouble that we are in. Leaving it up to someone else to handle the big stuff is a travesty to our common sense. Do we give the keys to the car to a nine year old because he’s assured us that he knows how to drive?
So when our congressman tells us that we don’t need him, I am forced to ask the question, “why not?”
