A response to comments received on the topics of the environment and politics

Thank you, Mr. Uncle D'Bunk, for challenging me to think about my words. I have taken your junkscience reference into consideration. It's true that I do not have all the facts. I'll admit that openly. I did not intend for my blog to become a place to present research papers. I rant on occasion. However you may have spurred me on to be more knowledgable, specific, and objective in any future posts that even mention conservatives. I seem to get the most passionate responses whenever I voice my opinions about the right. I know that the left is just as bad in most respects- I'm by no means a democrat.

My unsupported rant was at least based on the knowledge gathered in a year-long course in environmental science. I don't know how to argue with a person that won't even acknowledge something as serious as the thinning of the ozone over Antarctica. This is a very resilient planet, I agree. But even if it doesn't fall apart like all of those liberal environmentalist say it will, please at least agree that we are treating the planet like shit. We, the supposed stewards of God's creation. So even if you believe the earth can take all of our crap, is that really a reason to keep our abuse of it up? Wouldn't it be great to see biodiversity increase instead of decrease? For us to still have the few remaining old-growth forests to walk through? To have enough food and water for every person in the world? (On that last point, we probably do (even as overpopulated as we are); it's just our old friend capitalism that kind of keeps the concentration of food rather uneven).

I find it disturbing that you think a liberal would automatically become conservative upon being mugged. Would that be because of conservatives' love of the death penalty? Or their crackdown on all criminals with a defunct jail system? Or just the general distain they hold for anyone different from themselves- people who maybe have had to deal with more in their lives than you or me. I guess maybe you were refering to the idealism of some liberals (and myself) being shattered by the reality of a dog-eat-dog world. I supposed I would have two options from which to choose if I were mugged. I could become conservative, harden myself to the rest of the world, and only care about number one. Or I could become even more motivated to make some positive impact on a society that produces such criminals. Actually, since I'm the kind of person that, when given lemons, makes vanilla icing (excuse the inside joke), I'd probably be thankful to the mugger for presenting me with the opportunity to start living more simply. Personal property means way more to me right now than I wish it did. Laboring 8 hours a day to make $50 will do that to you. And I've only worked 14 days. I have a strange admiration for my coworkers. I don't know how they can do what they do, knowing that it is what they'll be doing for the indefinite future. Some of them do have hopes of starting their own businesses. But for some, the object seems to be to just survive and escape. I guess they can survive because they don't give themselves the chance to think about what it all means. Instead they think about the next time they can get drunk or high. Or when they can go really fast in their car or boat next. And maybe that's why they smoke. Maybe they rejoice in the knowledge that they are shortening their lifespans. All I can really say is that they have had to deal with a whole lot more in their lives than I have, and if someone who had grown up worse than they had would mug me, I'd hope that I could be understanding, forgive the person, and maybe try to give the person more than they were demanding.

I have a question. Who made you my Sensei? Are you basing your superiority of opinion/knowledge on your seniority in years, uncle? I appreciate that you care enough about me and my words to challenge them, but please don't jump to any conclusions about a teacher/student relationship. Maybe I am proving you're "favorite quote of conservatives" to be true. I am young and idealistic. Many of my opinions are left of center (some have no place on the spectrum/want to abolish the spectrum). And yeah, I strive to have a heart. There is a lot I have to experience. I look forward to it. I think I'm on a path with which I will experience a lot. Hopefully I'll become wiser. I certainly am wiser than I was four years ago. I personally hope that with wisdom, an argument such as this becomes unnecessary, that I can simply live to love, and that I offend neither conservatives nor liberals (or more likely, that I insult both equally). I don't really care what the politicians or the scientists are saying. Not after a point. Civilization is not healthy for anyone involved, especially the earth. And no, I'm not going to provide any proof for you. At least not today. Just think about the earth that is underneath the street outside your house. Its potential for life. And what it is doing instead. That's enough to go meditate on for a while, don't you think, Sensei?