Inconvenient Truths

My head is itching and I just received an email from the school nurse that a few of my students have head lice….uhhhh ohhh. I am sitting in my class looking out at the green vegetation and the heavy rains that fall from the sad sky. The many tears are needed and I wonder if Mother Earth is crying for all the local people here who are now having problems procuring enough water to shower and wash clothes. You know who I am talking about - the “other” people. The ones seldom talked about. The “other” ones who act as caregivers to the many expatriates here - The “others” who seldom talk unless spoken to but smile all the same. The water table is extremely low due to a delay in the rainy season. I am glad to see the sky crying but it makes me wonder about global warming. I also dread riding “Old Blue” (my Vespa) in the rain given the brakes are not quite up to snuff. So, I will blog to avoid marking and entering grades. Avoidance.

One of the reasons I bring up Global Warming is because I saw the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” this weekend. It did not surprise me much. What I did appreciate in the film was that Al Gore admitted to being a part of the problem as was his father who grew tobacco. Tobacco, he admits, was a cause to his sister’s death – lung cancer. Gore talks about connecting the dots. The dots that hold us all together as a humanity and global community. Few people actually take the time to reflect on their jobs, their actions, and connect the dots. Are we leaving a positive legacy or are we just another cog in the wheel – Yes men and women? Al Gore was connecting the dots when he realized that growing tobacco not only made money but also killed people. Not only “those other” people but family members. Loved ones. Good people. He had a lucid moment and so did his father when he stopped growing tobacco. It suddenly became not only about money makin' but about morals and ethics. It became personal. Al Gore uses a great quote in his film: “If is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it"- Upton Sinclair. True indeed. I call this the “Golden Handcuff” syndrome. We see this everyday and many of us have either experienced it or are living it. Gore also states his other lucid moment. The time his son was nearly killed after being hit by a car. This was the impetus that drove him to go on his world tour of promoting this film after losing the Presidential race. It became personal. It happened to someone close to him…someone he loved. It suddenly made him think of the “other” and connecting the dots. I hope more people are able to put the dots together soon for all of us. As he said in the film…there will be a reckoning. The challenge ways heavy on our shoulders.

Here is a video stream to the film if you interested:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15801.htm

Another BBC take on Global Warming: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15818.htm

The rain has stopped…