By DAVID PISARRA is a partner in the Santa Monica law firm of Pisarra & Grist. He (310) 664-9969.
LIFE COMES IN WAVES. SOCIETY evolves not in a smooth and fluid manner, but rather in fits and starts. People labor for decades to become overnight success stories. Social movements too happen in this way.
If it wasn’t for years of people talking about civil rights, of getting the spiritual and mental ground ready for change, the efforts of one person would be like a sneeze in a hurricane. It was only as the result of years of social unrest that Rosa Parks’ simple action sparked a major movement, and thus changed the world.
After years of politicians seeking change in Soviet Russia, of softening the ground, only then were the words of Ronald Reagan heard, telling Mr. Gorbachev to ‘tear down this wall’ and, in fact, it wasn’t Mr. Gorbachev, or his agents, who actually did the tearing. It was the population that heard a message, who finally realized they could take their destiny in their own hands and make a revolution.
We are in the midst of another revolution. This time, the fight is for something greater than mere voting rights or prejudice-free water fountains. This battle is for hearts and minds, but also for stockholders and pocketbooks. It is for awareness and for concern of the planet.
It is a battle, literally, for our world. I have said for years now that all this infighting among peoples is never going to end until they have a common enemy.
“Saved.” — The catholics blame the jews, the muslims hate the christians and the jews, the mormons will continue to think they are the one true church just as much as the presbyterians and episcopalians do and all of them will point fingers at how each of the others got it wrong and need to be
The Catholics blame the Jews, the Muslims hate the Christians and the Jews, the Mormons will continue to think they are the one true church just as much as the Presbyterians and Episcopalians do, and all of them will point fingers at how each of the others got it wrong and need to be “saved.”
Republicans are contemptuous of the Democrats, the Greeks hate the Turks, the Sunnis hate the Shias, the Indians and the Pakistani have a mutual disrespect, and the list goes on.
All of it will continue, until we have to fight a war together. For just like America versus Germany in WWII, a common enemy will put all people into a crucible where the differences are less important their commonalties. World War II veterans, both those in uniform and those at home, are called the ‘Greatest Generation’ and rightly so, of Americans, mostly because they pulled together to fight a common enemy.
Our enemy now is ourselves. We must change. We must see the dangers and the damage that we have done to our planet. It comes in the form of being wasteful of our natural resources, of our dogged determination to have convenience and be ‘germ free’ in a world that is filled with germs, some good some bad.
In a world where plastic coffee stirrers are used once, then thrown out in the trash to sit in a landfill for a millennium or two, how can we expect there to be anything left for those children that people are so devoted to? Paranoid overprotective mothers use disposable diapers, disposable bottles and raise their children in a plastic encased bubble to protect them from the facts of life, but at the cost of the health of the planet those children are supposed to inherit.
Al Gore spoke Sunday about the ‘moral battle’ to save the planet, and he’s right. It is a moral battle. It’s about thinking how much we consume, waste and how easily we turn a blind eye to the high cost of raising children; children who will grow to become consumers themselves. If we don’t teach the children how to be responsible global citizens (and isn’t leading by example the best teacher?), than how can we expect them to do a job that we are too lazy to do?
The long slow drip of information about our environment has finally reached the top of the glass and is beginning to overflow. The business world is now seeing the benefits in going green. An electric company in Texas is being sold and part of the deal is not building coal burning plants. An electric truck company is selling fleets to the U.S. government, and even that great evil Wal-Mart is seeing the benefits of a green message, not just for sales, but also for the planet. The common enemy we need to stop the warring is here. It’s the fight for the planet. It’s taken years to grow from the soapbox of the weird hair crowd. From Main Street to Wall Street, the message is finally being heard. Decades of work have gone into making “Going Green” an overnight success, and just in time.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.