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EARTHFUTURE.COM by Guy Dauncey
What is the greatest problem we face? No, it is not global warming or that
fishing fleets are stealing the last fish from the oceans or that corporate
investors are ripping off the Earth's ecosystems and laughing all the way
to bank. These are extremely commanding, but they are not the most serious.
Our greatest problem is cynicism, which says, "All these dreams, hopes and
ideals €“ they're not going to happen. You're being naïve. You've not
understood how powerful these people are." The cynic says, "I'm not cynical.
I'm just experienced." The cynic will defend himself by claiming to know
more about the world than you do.
This is childish, designed to save face rather than respond in an adult manner.
What most cynics are feeling, if they still have hearts, is "I feel so totally
defeated. Nothing works out. It's hopeless."
The Cynic's Sanctuary (www.i-cynic.com) notes that a cynic is actually "an idealist whose rose-colored glasses have been removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground, immediately improving his vision."
Cynicism is understandable because the world is full of disappointment and hurt.
The problems we face are so immense, however, and so dauntingly ominous, that
we can no longer afford cynicism. It would be more honest to say, "I wish
I knew what to do."
When we believe in hope, life takes on a perky attitude. It shines; it laughs
and spreads an infectious optimism. In the dark days of 1940, when Hitler's
armies had crushed most of Europe under their jackboots, the attitude in Britain
was not one of cynicism; it was one of blazing determination, filled with cocky
humour, even while people knew they might die in the struggle against the Nazis.
When people felt defeated, they kept it to themselves. If they expressed cynicism,
they were in danger of being taken for a spy.
So why, when we face problems every bit as grave as they were in 1940, are we
beset by sad-faced cynics? The answer may be that people are still awaiting
the sign that it is safe to come out of the cave, pick up their belief and experience
once more the sun of hope as they join the global effort that is underway.
South of the border, that sign has arrived in the person of Barack Obama, whose
determination and hope are arousing millions out of defeat, disappointment and
despair. His speeches are electrifying. His Yes We Can New Hampshire
speech below, turned by a supporter into a YouTube music video, has been viewed
by over three million people.
While we breathe, we will hope.
Where we are met with cynicism and doubts and fear, we will respond with that
timeless creed, "Yes we can."
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny
of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward
freedom through the darkest of nights.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers
who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot;
a president who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a king who took us to
the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can.
It does not matter that we do not have the equivalent leader here in Canada. It
does not matter that the political mood in Ottawa is closer to cold porridge than
sun-blessed peaches. All that matters is you.
As Obama says, "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in
my ability to bring about real change in Washington ... I'm
asking you to believe in yours."
Guy Dauncey is president of the BC Sustainable Energy Association (www.bcsea.org) and author of Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change. www.earthfuture.com
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