An inconvenient truth indeed...
We went and saw An Inconvenient Truth today at the Landmark, and I have several things to say.
First of all, I like Al Gore. I admire the good and forgive the bad. Is he perfect? Of course not. Can he dance? Anyone seeing his fist pumping, hip shaking, white man's overbite at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics knows the answer is no. Did I roll my eyes and laugh at some of the things in this movie, absolutely. Does that mean that this issue and this movie shouldn't be taken seriously by both sides of the ideological fence? Resoundingly no.
My lack of trust for politicians began at an early age. When BIll Clinton was elected the first time, I was 13. I won't sit here and say I was a Clinton fan because I didn't follow politics then and I didn't know anything, but I knew how I felt about the world and I always seem to see it through liberal eyes. I was passionate about that world view, even if it was unfocused and somewhat uninformed.
My freshman year in high school I would get into arguments with my Geometry teacher, an evangelical Republican, about gays, religion, drugs, welfare, and social justice. It was this experience that began my hatred for Rush Limbaugh. As wildly inappropriate as it was for a teacher to tell a student that she was going to hell because she was Jewish, and as dangerously unprofessional as it was to bait a student about gay rights in between lessons on parallelograms and endpoints, it fed my fighting spirit and laid the foundation for my growing rage against that kind of ignorance.
I had no real thoughts or feelings towards Al Gore at that time. He was simply the Vice-President and his wife had a funny name. But then in college I read his book Earth in the Balance, Ecology and the Human Spirit and he became more than just a bad dancer. He actually cared about something. He could not only write about it eloquently, but he knew what he's talking about. This isn't just some politician who says what he thinks we want to hear. He had a real concern and wants to do something about it, and NOT for his ego's sake, but for his children's sake. I can't give you a book report on the thing; it has been 8 years since I read it. But I do know I gained respect for him. In fact, maybe it's time to reread it.
Now, that being said, An Inconvenient Truth shows both sides of Al Gore; the ridiculous and the sincere. From the cell phone scene, which was just funny, to the clips about the 2000 election, which were embarrassingly inappropriate, there were a few moments where I either laughed or cringed. But I forgive him and chalk them up to the cheesiness that is Al Gore, because there is a bigger issue at hand. He is right.
Get out there and see this movie. This isn't another Fahrenheit 911-conservative-bashing-liberal piece of propaganda as some people would say. This is science. This isn't opinion. You may not like the way this information is presented, but get past it. Make your parents go. Make your Republican friends go. Tell them to grow up, get past the Al Gore cheesiness, and see the real issue at hand. Antarctica melting in 35 days...Greenland is almost gone...Entire seas are dried up.... This isn't political. This is just our home. Who cares if you are for big government or small government. Who cares if you believe in the separation of church and state. We are talking about losing Florida and most of India.
The most powerful image was at the end. He showed us a picture of earth, taken very far out in space. It was a small little dot in an enormous cosmic swirl. That's it. That little dot is all our history, all our wars, our empires, our achievements, our loves, our losses, our entire existence...that one little pixel. It's all we have...it's our home.
Go see this movie. That's all. Just see it.
First of all, I like Al Gore. I admire the good and forgive the bad. Is he perfect? Of course not. Can he dance? Anyone seeing his fist pumping, hip shaking, white man's overbite at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics knows the answer is no. Did I roll my eyes and laugh at some of the things in this movie, absolutely. Does that mean that this issue and this movie shouldn't be taken seriously by both sides of the ideological fence? Resoundingly no.
My lack of trust for politicians began at an early age. When BIll Clinton was elected the first time, I was 13. I won't sit here and say I was a Clinton fan because I didn't follow politics then and I didn't know anything, but I knew how I felt about the world and I always seem to see it through liberal eyes. I was passionate about that world view, even if it was unfocused and somewhat uninformed.
My freshman year in high school I would get into arguments with my Geometry teacher, an evangelical Republican, about gays, religion, drugs, welfare, and social justice. It was this experience that began my hatred for Rush Limbaugh. As wildly inappropriate as it was for a teacher to tell a student that she was going to hell because she was Jewish, and as dangerously unprofessional as it was to bait a student about gay rights in between lessons on parallelograms and endpoints, it fed my fighting spirit and laid the foundation for my growing rage against that kind of ignorance.
I had no real thoughts or feelings towards Al Gore at that time. He was simply the Vice-President and his wife had a funny name. But then in college I read his book Earth in the Balance, Ecology and the Human Spirit and he became more than just a bad dancer. He actually cared about something. He could not only write about it eloquently, but he knew what he's talking about. This isn't just some politician who says what he thinks we want to hear. He had a real concern and wants to do something about it, and NOT for his ego's sake, but for his children's sake. I can't give you a book report on the thing; it has been 8 years since I read it. But I do know I gained respect for him. In fact, maybe it's time to reread it.
Now, that being said, An Inconvenient Truth shows both sides of Al Gore; the ridiculous and the sincere. From the cell phone scene, which was just funny, to the clips about the 2000 election, which were embarrassingly inappropriate, there were a few moments where I either laughed or cringed. But I forgive him and chalk them up to the cheesiness that is Al Gore, because there is a bigger issue at hand. He is right.
Get out there and see this movie. This isn't another Fahrenheit 911-conservative-bashing-liberal piece of propaganda as some people would say. This is science. This isn't opinion. You may not like the way this information is presented, but get past it. Make your parents go. Make your Republican friends go. Tell them to grow up, get past the Al Gore cheesiness, and see the real issue at hand. Antarctica melting in 35 days...Greenland is almost gone...Entire seas are dried up.... This isn't political. This is just our home. Who cares if you are for big government or small government. Who cares if you believe in the separation of church and state. We are talking about losing Florida and most of India.
The most powerful image was at the end. He showed us a picture of earth, taken very far out in space. It was a small little dot in an enormous cosmic swirl. That's it. That little dot is all our history, all our wars, our empires, our achievements, our loves, our losses, our entire existence...that one little pixel. It's all we have...it's our home.
Go see this movie. That's all. Just see it.