{"id":1458,"date":"2007-10-16T06:50:30","date_gmt":"2007-10-16T11:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=1458"},"modified":"2007-10-16T06:50:30","modified_gmt":"2007-10-16T11:50:30","slug":"were-doomed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=1458","title":{"rendered":"We’re Doomed"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least, if Twin Cities’ college student Andrea Jackley<\/a>, as evidenced in this Strib op-ed, is any evidence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last Friday, former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award denotes a shared effort in diagnosing (and proving) global warming and bringing the pending environmental disaster to the attention of the world as one of the greatest challenges ever known to the human race.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And\/or denotes the most amazing marketing effort for totalitarianism in the history of the world…<\/p>\n

Nobel prizes are not meant to be political,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Nobel Peace Prize nearly pure, distilled politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

but nevertheless speak volumes [AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAGH! – Ed.<\/em>] in terms of public opinion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Among Norwegian academics? Perhaps.<\/p>\n

And this year, as it always does, the award spurred controversy. Is the Norwegian Nobel Committee trying to criticize the Bush administration and its policies? Not really.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hm.\u00a0 Interesting conclusion.\u00a0 Care to elaborate?\u00a0 I’d like to see the carefully-honed reasoning that led to this rather sweeping – and groaningly implausible – observation.<\/p>\n

Are they trying to tell us what to think?<\/p>\n

Well yes, actually. The committee made its message quite clear: “By awarding the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby reduce the threat to the security of mankind,” said Chairman Ole Danbolt Mj\u00f8s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, the Nobel academics have decided what’s good for the rest of us, and want to do their bit to give an American patrician carte blanche <\/em>to run the nation and the world.<\/p>\n

No, Andrea.\u00a0 Nothing political about that.<\/p>\n

As a full-time college student burdened by two jobs, I’m completely immersed in my own busy life. I’m not sure what I was wearing yesterday, let alone what’s going on in the steadily changing world of politics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Aside:\u00a0 So naturally, the Strib gives you an op-ed slot.\u00a0 I guess it’s no worse than Susan Lenfestey]<\/p>\n

But in an America deeply, and quite publicly, divided by issues ranging from war to health care to — of course — climate change, I am acutely aware of the floundering patriotism, national pride and participation of younger generations. But can you blame us?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a group?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Just about every generation – at least, the generations anyone notices (mine, a demographic shadow, slipped through while everyone else was barbering about the Baby Boomers) – goes through a bout of narcissism, solipsism, and self-adulation; a period where it is the center of the world (and for the Baby Boomers, it’s never ended).<\/p>\n

There is a constant deluge of reports in the media about how poorly the world thinks of Americans and how often our government lies to us…The past six years have done immeasurable harm to our nation’s foreign relations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which is why Sweden and Austria are swamped with immigrants, and lines of Indian and Saudi and Dutch are queued up to go to schools, apply for our jobs, and raise their families in Norway.<\/p>\n

In a world becoming more and more closely linked on a daily basis, economically and socially, a cavalier and autocratic attitude is a luxury not even a superpower can afford. Contrary to what some of our politicians may think, America is no longer the stag leading the herd as far as the rest of the world is concerned.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ding.<\/p>\n

And so Ms. Jackley would prefer a leader who would, like Jimmy Carter, lead America to become a Big Sweden.<\/p>\n

But then there’s Al, who has catapulted to almost movie-star status with his Oscars, who has appealed to the masses with giant outdoor concerts featuring acts like U2 and given his whacky, tree-hugging notions about the environment credibility. He’s all of the things college students love.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You just wanna put him in a bong and ingest the guy.\u00a0 Or maybe kick him around like a hackey sack.<\/p>\n

Seriously – what does this say about “young people” today, assuming Ms. Jackley’s right?\u00a0 That the most important things in a leader are:<\/p>\n