Standing proudly with his hands on his hips, he quipped: “The free market will solve global warming… if that even exists.”
It’s remarkable that today’s politicians can make public statements like this and get away unchallenged. And in some cases, even applauded.
Actually, that statement wasn’t made by a politician. It was said by the actor David Schwimmer in a 2007 episode of the hit sitcom 30 Rock, while dressed as “America’s first non-judgemental, business-friendly” environmental superhero.
But the fact that you believed for a second that it was said by a politician, shows how far our values have plummeted in the last 12 years.
And that’s why it was so important that hundreds of schoolchildren took to the streets of Perth and Crieff on Friday, to demand urgent action on climate change and an end to burning fossil fuels.
It was an inspiring sight. Teenagers get a bad rap, but seeing them get passionately involved in such a positive cause should give us all hope for the future.
But as sure as night follows day, as sure as eggs is eggs, there was outrage on social media: They should all be in school; it’s a waste of everyone’s time, they don’t know what they’re even talking about.
As inevitable as these complaints were, they absolutely reinforce how necessarily these Climate Strikes are.
These pupils may have been out of school, but this was arguably one of the most important lessons they will ever be part of. And it should be an education for all of us. We can all do better.
I don’t want to say that if you don’t believe in global warming, you’re an idiot. But you might be, and you may want to get that checked out.
The fact is that global warming is causing real damage to our planet, damage that might not be readily visible in Perth, but real damage all the same.
If we don’t all start acting up now, we are heading for catastrophe. And yes, I know you’ve heard that a million times, but when it starts getting more and more difficult to tell the difference between our politicians and our comedy characters, it’s a message we need to keep hammering home.
