It is shocking to consider how a well-intentioned but hopelessly misguided political movement—getting rid of government—has laid waste to America. As a nation, we are losing sight of the role that competent governance plays in our everyday lives.
While it is true that our challenges are many--particularly during this difficult time--we would do well to consider what we are losing when we substitute reason with ignorance, deceit and negligence.
To abandon science and sensible environmental policies devalues life. Let’s move forward with vision, not backward and undo what works. If we’re going to change something, let’s be smart about it. And please, can we stop putting profits before people?
We are all connected. What we do and don’t do affects the planet. The universe may appear indifferent, but our earth is not.
For a little perspective, consider what Denis Hayes, the founder of the first Earth Day (1970) has to say about what is at stake this November.
The excerpt below was taken from his April 10 2020 op-ed “The Most Important Election of Your Lifetime” in The Seattle Times:
…”One month after the 1970 election, the Clean Air Act of 1970 passed the Senate unanimously and the House with just one dissenting vote.
In short order, Congress also passed the:
• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Marine Mammal Protection Act
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Set Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards for cars
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• Toxic Substances Control Act
• National Forest Management Act
Additionally, President Nixon established the EPA, and its visionary first head, Bill Ruckelshaus, banned lead in gasoline, banned DDT and banned lead-based paint.
By successfully applying the skills and enthusiasm of Earth Day organizers to the 1970 election, we saved the environmental revolution that had been launched on April 22 of that year.
…”The 2020 election will determine whether the great American experiment — universal suffrage, separation of powers, Bill of Rights, rule of law — will be resuscitated from the dark impact of the worst president in the nation’s history.
The 2020 election will determine whether the United States Senate will once again become the independent chamber of leaders envisioned by the founders, or whether it will drift into long-term status as a chamber of corrupt, inept sycophants.
The 2020 election will determine whether America will come again to cherish sound science, respect expertise, revere innovators and assume its leadership role in protecting the planet from climate devastation. Essentially, all climate scientists agree that we are approaching irreversible tipping points that threaten to permanently impoverish not just the human prospect but the entire web of life...”
