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" Greens aim to bring about their brave new world through federal law or local ordinance. But where that’s not practical, they’ll settle for inducing artificial shortages, pricing you out of your “bad” habits by hiking taxes and surcharges, or simply trying to condition you, and those around you, to believe you are engaging in an act of severe personal transgression. "
" You may be tempted to dismiss all this as a gross exaggeration. Make no mistake: living green is really about someone else microregulating you – downsizing your dreams and plugging each one of us into a brand new social order for which we never bargained. It’s about you living under the green thumb and having the boundaries of your life drawn by others. "
" The greens justify all this as necessary to solve our alleged “planetary emergency.” But they don’t intend for you to live this downsized and penitent lifestyle for some finite period of time until the supposed crisis is over. It is to be a permanent restructuring of life as you know it. "
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Those who would give up the liberty of others (because they know so much better and are always right) fail to realize that they are giving up their own, ultimately.
I would say that it's some environmentalists, and those are the same kind of people who would do the same over any issue they could come up with to exert control over others. Not all environmentalists by any means.
And why move it to politics? It really does relate to Green Living.
Last edited by TexasHorseLady; 04-08-2009 at 10:27 AM..
Reason: To clarify
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Those who would give up the liberty of others (because they know so much better and are always right) fail to realize that they are giving up their own, ultimately.
I would say that it's some environmentalists, and those are the same kind of people who would do the same over any issue they could come up with to exert control over others. Not all environmentalists by any means.
And why move it to politics? It really does relate to Green Living.
I'm a veteran who actually was on the line protecting those liberties that you cavalierly talk about. I don't find the comparison at all relevant.
We tax and legislate behavior in all aspects of life from alcohol and tobacco to incest and murder. We encourage some things -- tax breaks for children -- and discourage others -- sin tax, gas guzzler tax. We legislate how close to the property line you can build your house, and how fast you can drive your car.
Energy use affects our environment, our national security, our balance of payments and our economic health. Why in the world wouldn't we take action to improve the environment, strengthen our national security, reduce our trade imbalance, and improve our economic health?
I'm not cavalier about them at all. I find it a very serious concern that we are pandering to people whose main goal (based on their behavior and what they say and what they want to do, when it comes right down to it) has precious little to do with what they SAY their purpose is and everything to do with forcing everyone else to make the decisions that they prefer.
I've been an environmentalist for a very long time, and as I said above, this doesn't apply to all environmentalists by a long shot, but to a very small, very loud number of them who sadly get a lot of attention. Mainly, the ones whose opinion is that they know SO much more than anyone else and that it's their way or the highway (or, preferably, their way and you do what they say).
If an environmentalist doesn't fall into that category, then I've got no problem with them. If a person DOES fall into that category, I think they are just as much a threat to our country and our world as any environmental issue.
I'm not cavalier about them at all. I find it a very serious concern that we are pandering to people whose main goal (based on their behavior and what they say and what they want to do, when it comes right down to it) has precious little to do with what they SAY their purpose is and everything to do with forcing everyone else to make the decisions that they prefer.
I've been an environmentalist for a very long time, and as I said above, this doesn't apply to all environmentalists by a long shot, but to a very small, very loud number of them who sadly get a lot of attention. Mainly, the ones whose opinion is that they know SO much more than anyone else and that it's their way or the highway (or, preferably, their way and you do what they say).
If an environmentalist doesn't fall into that category, then I've got no problem with them. If a person DOES fall into that category, I think they are just as much a threat to our country and our world as any environmental issue.
The group you reference isn't changing policy. They are just noise. The science is changing policy. Your statement doesn't actually sound like what an environmentalist would make. There are significant environmental and energy security challenges the the OP seems to want to brush away.
I agree. This is kind of like the people who assert that being "forced" to use motorcycle helmets or wear seat belts is a sinister attack on their Constitutional rights. Sometimes the rights of others factor into the equation as well, so as long as the process is democratic, nobody's come up with a better system yet for deciding such questions.
" Greens aim to bring about their brave new world through federal law or local ordinance. But where that’s not practical, they’ll settle for inducing artificial shortages, pricing you out of your “bad” habits by hiking taxes and surcharges, or simply trying to condition you, and those around you, to believe you are engaging in an act of severe personal transgression. "
" You may be tempted to dismiss all this as a gross exaggeration. Make no mistake: living green is really about someone else microregulating you* – downsizing your dreams and plugging each one of us into a brand new social order for which we never bargained. It’s about you living under the green thumb and having the boundaries of your life drawn by others. "
" The greens justify all this as necessary to solve our alleged “planetary emergency.” But they don’t intend for you to live this downsized and penitent lifestyle for some finite period of time until the supposed crisis is over. It is to be a permanent restructuring of life as you know it. "
moving to POLITICS
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