Sunday Scribblings
"... a riddle, inside a mystery, wrapped in an enigma."
~Winston Churchill
This is my first Sunday Scribbling, but it seems appropriate that today is the day. This afternoon, I saw An Inconvenient Truth, the new Al Gore film about global warming.
*Sigh*
My vision of heaven is a place where all of life's mysteries are answered: Who shot JFK, did Marilyn Monroe die of a drug overdose, and why Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential election. More to the point: How did George W. Bush get elected president? Twice?
Like most Americans, I am environmentally unconscious. I recycle because I have to, but I don't do anything really to help preserve our natural resources. Recently in my office, my coworkers and I have talked about how acceptable it seems these days that people are constantly throwing cigarette butts, coffee cups, and trash out of their cars. We think litterers should be arrested and made to do five hours of community service cleaning trash off of highways. At the very least, they should be OUTED by taking pictures of their license plates and put on a blog for all the world to see.
But I digress. An Inconvenient Truth effectively makes the point that we can't take for granted those things we think are always going to be around forever--glaciers, forests, the atmosphere. If we (if I ) keep sleepwalking through this life, the damage that we have done to the planet will be irrevocable.
The film takes Gore's PowerPoint presentation and amplifies it for the broader audience. It also splices the lecture with segments about Al Gore, the man. I learned more about his life than I did when he was in Congress, the White House, and running for president. It also softens his image, showing off his true passions. I can't think of a man or woman born to be president more than Al Gore, but maybe this was his true calling--to lead the charge for saving the earth. But honestly: it is a mystery to me why we didn't see this side of Gore in the 2000 election?
Gore's story reminds me that life is not about the past or the future, but it's about the ride. Something always pops up which tests our fortitude. It's how we handle the mystery that shapes our character.
How we handle the environment will shape the planet for generations to come.
~Winston Churchill
This is my first Sunday Scribbling, but it seems appropriate that today is the day. This afternoon, I saw An Inconvenient Truth, the new Al Gore film about global warming.
*Sigh*
My vision of heaven is a place where all of life's mysteries are answered: Who shot JFK, did Marilyn Monroe die of a drug overdose, and why Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential election. More to the point: How did George W. Bush get elected president? Twice?
Like most Americans, I am environmentally unconscious. I recycle because I have to, but I don't do anything really to help preserve our natural resources. Recently in my office, my coworkers and I have talked about how acceptable it seems these days that people are constantly throwing cigarette butts, coffee cups, and trash out of their cars. We think litterers should be arrested and made to do five hours of community service cleaning trash off of highways. At the very least, they should be OUTED by taking pictures of their license plates and put on a blog for all the world to see.
But I digress. An Inconvenient Truth effectively makes the point that we can't take for granted those things we think are always going to be around forever--glaciers, forests, the atmosphere. If we (if I ) keep sleepwalking through this life, the damage that we have done to the planet will be irrevocable.
The film takes Gore's PowerPoint presentation and amplifies it for the broader audience. It also splices the lecture with segments about Al Gore, the man. I learned more about his life than I did when he was in Congress, the White House, and running for president. It also softens his image, showing off his true passions. I can't think of a man or woman born to be president more than Al Gore, but maybe this was his true calling--to lead the charge for saving the earth. But honestly: it is a mystery to me why we didn't see this side of Gore in the 2000 election?
Gore's story reminds me that life is not about the past or the future, but it's about the ride. Something always pops up which tests our fortitude. It's how we handle the mystery that shapes our character.
How we handle the environment will shape the planet for generations to come.
Comments
Thanks
Your post puts it clear and truthful. Do we care enough to change? And Al Gore would have been a good President, though sleepwalking was preferred.
But, I think Al Gore is still relevant, and his message about the environment is needed now more than ever.
I could go on and on about this subject but I just have to stop and breathe and use my voice my voice in a more constructive manner. It was a good movie so I hope you get a chance to see it. Put your dollars into something you believe in.
I've always loved Al Gore, think that he is an intelligent, reflective, and moral man (unlike some other people, who shall remain nameless!). I remember being devastated during that election, also, but even more devastated during the 2004 one. Like you said, I just don't see how he made the cut---TWICE!
Thank you for your thoughts and also for the reminder. And I agree about making litterers take responsibility for their actions--just the other day, I watched a guy throw some garbage out the window of his car and I was seething. Love the "outing" and community service ideas. Might I also offer the suggestion of perpetrators being banished to live on a landfill island for a month or two (whole new kind of Survivor!). HA!
Oh, and I hope that the mysteries that you mentioned in your second paragraph are solved in Heaven, too!
Must look out for the film.
btw, i love the poem in your margin, Nothing Fancy - i will have to come back and read more! :o)