Green or red? Cake or death? Both paradoxical questions seem strange to me and I guess that is the point of at least the latter one. The former isn’t a question I hear often, but a choice I am seemingly faced with each day. My Monty Python stump question is about the politics of choosing a lifestyle that embraces the outdoors, nature, living on less, recycling, and caring for our planet OR choosing one of rigged conservative values and traditions.
The only problem is, I was in many respects, raised to appreciate both worlds. I was raised conservative and my parents embraced the idea of living on less. They firmly believed littering was a horrid practice, a belief I hold to this day. Why then the dilemma?
Why is it that conservatives don’t believe in conserving? Sure, I hear that the main objection is to the expensive and largely ineffective government solutions. But this country is, after all, a Republic. Can’t a free people choose, through a representative form of government, to work towards cleaner air and water? Property rights seem a little trivial to me when we are talking about the very air we breathe. Can you get a warranty deed for that?
Upon doing a very minimal amount of research, I was surprised yet gratified to read that it was the Republican Party fighting for protecting our forests from the heavy deforestation just a couple generations ago. Granted, there are both good and bad solutions to the environmental issues facing us today. Many conservatives claim that most of the current efforts put forth by liberals are more bad than good. But no party can win at a game they are not willing to play. Conservatives must begin demonstrating their desire to care for this earth by putting their own green-friendly ideas into the hat. Otherwise their voices will never be heard, other than as nay-sayers that just don’t care. This needs to be an American resolution. Our beautiful nation is finite and our resources won’t last forever. Living requires responsibility and responsibility requires sacrifice.
I leave you with a choice, but a better one than most of us are supposed to see. Green, red, or blue? You can pick two.
(originally posted at http://sidburgess.com)
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