…First female US Vice-President?
“I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country,” she said. Bring it on I thought, this is America’s first possible female Vice President. Sarah Palin’s gusto image invoked a warm glow in my soul. Don’t be deceived, this Alaskan coined herself the pitbull with lipstick for a reason.
You may be thinking why you should care about what the British, or for that matter any other country, think who you vote for. Well unfortunately for the rest of us, American policy influences so much of the world. I hate the fact that any country in the world has so much power. But that’s the legacy that World War II has given us.
I hope that those that were brave enough to start the new world in the name of freedom, democracy, trust and liberty can see the light of day, and vote with their heads and their hearts. The world desparately needs leadership styles we haven’t seen since the likes of the Second World War, to tackle issues just as important: Climate Change, Poverty and Energy Crises.
“We must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.
More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate. They are victims of disease. Their economic life is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas.” Not my words, but those of former President Harry Truman and call me skeptical but I don’t think he’d like Sarah Palin.
Green isn’t a dirty word – It’s an opportunity. An opportunity to bring the world together, to unite to solve common goals, to change the way we make a living for the better. In many ways, the problems we now face require the embodiment of the American spirit. Which lets face it, is the reason we used to love America in the first place.
You can be a hunter, a fisherman and a member of the National Rifle Association and still be green. Many professional hunters, kill for food in a sustainable manner. Some may say it’s cruel, but at the end of the day if you are a meat eater you can’t deny that this free range method is better than factory farming. Some hunters even seek to conserve the environment to maximise the quality of game, take the British Association of Shooting and Conservation as an example. Unlike economists these people already recognise the importance of all parts of the ecosystem.
Palin couldn’t give a hoot about Green Issues. Check out some of her environmental credentials:
- Has supported oil drilling in some of the most ecologically sensitive areas in Alaska – The Trail, 29 Aug 2008
- Sued the ‘Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice – the main habitat of polar bears – are unreliable.’ – The Times, 23 May 2008
- Has oppposed protections for salmon from mining contamination. On the Issues, Aug 2008
- Doesn’t attribute Climate Change to being man made. Time 1 Sep 2008
So forget the consensus from 1000’s of scientists, forget what the Pentagon have said about the threat of climate change, just forget all that climate change mumbo jumbo. Palin knows best, and she’s on her way. (Apparently!)
“I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country,” but she can only really do this if she wakes up to climate change.
Ironically Governor Sarah Palin’s official website for Alaska has just declared that it’s Energy Efficiency month. Call me cynical but I can’t help but wonder if that’s political spin, or a genuine concern.
Why not drop Governor Palin a line and make this thing called democracy work for you?
Perhaps you’d like to tell her how much you know about climate change? Or maybe just throw her a few wise words.
But whatever you do, just vote in a good pair of good leaders this time. Whoever they are.
