Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Conservativism vs Reality
A dark ideology is driving those who deny climate change | Robin McKie | Comment is free | The Observer
To give you an idea of how old I am, I've been following the global climate change debate for so long that I can even remember when one actually existed. That, as opposed to the hollow, politically driven barkings we hear now from those who deny global warming.
I have to say, back in the 1980's there was still good reason to doubt whether or not global warming was real, if it were, were we effecting it and to what extent, if we were, would the effects be more positive or negative, etc.
With Reagan's election, conservatism linked itself to global climate change denialism. This is something they've steadfastly held to despite the mountains of evidence that we've accumulated to show it's very real existance and effects. There was a brief period of time, during the early 2000's, when even most conservative voices quieted their "skepticism". This changed drastically and radically in 2006 with the release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."
This movie awoke the slumbering conservative forces of denialism like few other things could have.
It's always dangerous to hold political views so strongly that we don't allow reality to change them. Conservatives like to point out Neville Chamberlain's inability to accept what Nazi Germany really was as an example of liberals doing just this. Not surprisingly, there are far more examples of conservatives exhibiting this behavior. That's because of the basic nature of both ways of thinking. One is resistant to change and fears it. One is accepting and even desirous of it.
In regards to global warming, conservatives have been very successful in their efforts to keep the public at large from accepting its existence. This has led to political victories over attempts to lesson its impact, as well. However, this will be a pyrrhic victory for them. The costs to them and all of us will be such that their minor fears will seem small in view of the major problems they've helped create.
To give you an idea of how old I am, I've been following the global climate change debate for so long that I can even remember when one actually existed. That, as opposed to the hollow, politically driven barkings we hear now from those who deny global warming.
I have to say, back in the 1980's there was still good reason to doubt whether or not global warming was real, if it were, were we effecting it and to what extent, if we were, would the effects be more positive or negative, etc.
With Reagan's election, conservatism linked itself to global climate change denialism. This is something they've steadfastly held to despite the mountains of evidence that we've accumulated to show it's very real existance and effects. There was a brief period of time, during the early 2000's, when even most conservative voices quieted their "skepticism". This changed drastically and radically in 2006 with the release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."
This movie awoke the slumbering conservative forces of denialism like few other things could have.
It's always dangerous to hold political views so strongly that we don't allow reality to change them. Conservatives like to point out Neville Chamberlain's inability to accept what Nazi Germany really was as an example of liberals doing just this. Not surprisingly, there are far more examples of conservatives exhibiting this behavior. That's because of the basic nature of both ways of thinking. One is resistant to change and fears it. One is accepting and even desirous of it.
In regards to global warming, conservatives have been very successful in their efforts to keep the public at large from accepting its existence. This has led to political victories over attempts to lesson its impact, as well. However, this will be a pyrrhic victory for them. The costs to them and all of us will be such that their minor fears will seem small in view of the major problems they've helped create.
