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October 07, 2007
National Geographic, Politics, and a Little Perspective
The recent October issue of National Georgaphic features a nice little essay by Bill McKibben entitled "Carbon's New Math," on some basics we've heard before as far as slowing global warming goes. But it got me thinking in a way similar articles ands peeches mentioning similar things-- wind power, rising industrial powers, cars-- haven't.
One gracefully simple line, "We'd need to be grown-up enough to have a real conversation about taxes-- say, about switching away from taxes on things we like (employment) to taxes on things we hate (global warming)."
I used to be pretty into politics. I'm sure I've got my e-mail address on more activist or political agenda websites than most-- Amnesty, HRC, MoveOn.org. But I got tired of the endless arguing that seems to fufill Newton's third law of motion "Every action has an equal and opposite reaciton." I've been drawn more and more over the years to disciplines and subjects that approach the same kind of topics I hear about in political circles, but without all the bickering. History, geography, and English lit seem a litlte bit more willing to look at why we make the choices we make without getting quite so defensive. And it's really, really refreshing. I don't mind studying the history of medieval Europe, for example, even if most everyone was even more religious, superstitious, and conservative than the wingnuts to drive me nuts today, because with the distance of a few centuries and some really good stories, it's a lot easier to accept that hey, God was a big deal to these people, and ideas about God affected a lot of things. Politics has gotten so antagonistic these days, so much about competition rather than really exchanging ideas and strategies, that it makes me think more of the freshman bickering matches I witnessed in entry-level college humanities classes than the elegant philosophizing of such politic greats as Jefferson or Lincoln we celebrate as our political role models.
I'd like to publically thank Mr. McKibben for telling it like it is, and reminding us that no matter where we might personally stand on any number of issues, we'll get a lot farther by biting our tongues, listening to the experts, and getting something done than trying to push our own small opinions forward.
| By Spike | 04:53 PM
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