"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."
Mark Twain
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon him not understanding it.”
Upton Sinclair
The quotes by Mark Twain and Upton Sinclair are highlighted in Al Gore’s film where he takes his slide show on the road to cities all around the world. These words really resonated with me and stuck in my head until this morning so I could write the latest observations. I feel these quotes somehow shed light on just some of the reasons why our struggle continues and why we must stay committed to bearing and sharing the inconvenient truths found everywhere.
Back in April I wrote an article called “Love Your Planet” in which I spoke about a new documentary coming out called An Inconvenient Truth. Last night we went to 5th Avenue Cinema and watched this very informative and hard-hitting film about Al Gore’s mission to educate as many cities, towns and families around the world about the reality of global warming.
Judging from the amazing turnout at the box office so far, it looks like more and more people are finally tuning into the reality on earth and not the “reality” of wife swapping or living on Laguna Beach. In it’s second week, An Inconvenient Truth broke the top 10 at the box office. This week it drops to #11 but it is impressive to note that it is having this massive impact while only playing in 122 theatres compared to the 3,000-4,000 theatres featuring anticipated films like The Break Up or Cars.
So why were there only a dozen or so people at the theatre last night in Vancouver? Has everyone already had a chance to see it or was it because it was a Monday? Following the events of 9-11 many people continued researching and asking more and more questions about the truth. It lead to many so called conspiracy theories and it also resulted in a clamp down from the U.S. administration on any distracters to their policies. But it also resulted in a tenacious desire by millions around the world to find the truth.
Today, many of the stories now coming to light, whether it is the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war or subtle mistakes like not finding any weapons of mass destruction, are stories that had been documented and shared long before it hit mainstream media. Take for instance the underground film Loose Change. This film combines all the information of other smaller films and all the stories in relation to 9-11 and brings it together in one of the most concise and informative documentaries on the subject.
Watching An Inconvenient Truth last night I was not shocked or surprised. This film did what Loose Change did by bringing the entire global warming debate into another concise, informative and moving film. When I started reading David Suzuki books like Sacred Balance, I began having a stronger understanding and relationship between my own choices and their affects on the world around me. “Live locally” he always said and watch your imprint on the earth have less of an impact. Support your local grocer and restaurants and watch your local economy strive. Making the changes within yourself first then watch it grow as you share it with others.
It is very promising that some of these uncomfortable realities are being discussed and debated with more and more people each day. The reality is that life is always, always changing. No matter how hard you may try to hold on to all things of the past we must come to that pinnacle decision and understanding that many things are not working any longer.
Mark Twain
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon him not understanding it.”
Upton Sinclair
The quotes by Mark Twain and Upton Sinclair are highlighted in Al Gore’s film where he takes his slide show on the road to cities all around the world. These words really resonated with me and stuck in my head until this morning so I could write the latest observations. I feel these quotes somehow shed light on just some of the reasons why our struggle continues and why we must stay committed to bearing and sharing the inconvenient truths found everywhere.
Back in April I wrote an article called “Love Your Planet” in which I spoke about a new documentary coming out called An Inconvenient Truth. Last night we went to 5th Avenue Cinema and watched this very informative and hard-hitting film about Al Gore’s mission to educate as many cities, towns and families around the world about the reality of global warming.
Judging from the amazing turnout at the box office so far, it looks like more and more people are finally tuning into the reality on earth and not the “reality” of wife swapping or living on Laguna Beach. In it’s second week, An Inconvenient Truth broke the top 10 at the box office. This week it drops to #11 but it is impressive to note that it is having this massive impact while only playing in 122 theatres compared to the 3,000-4,000 theatres featuring anticipated films like The Break Up or Cars.So why were there only a dozen or so people at the theatre last night in Vancouver? Has everyone already had a chance to see it or was it because it was a Monday? Following the events of 9-11 many people continued researching and asking more and more questions about the truth. It lead to many so called conspiracy theories and it also resulted in a clamp down from the U.S. administration on any distracters to their policies. But it also resulted in a tenacious desire by millions around the world to find the truth.
Today, many of the stories now coming to light, whether it is the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war or subtle mistakes like not finding any weapons of mass destruction, are stories that had been documented and shared long before it hit mainstream media. Take for instance the underground film Loose Change. This film combines all the information of other smaller films and all the stories in relation to 9-11 and brings it together in one of the most concise and informative documentaries on the subject.
Watching An Inconvenient Truth last night I was not shocked or surprised. This film did what Loose Change did by bringing the entire global warming debate into another concise, informative and moving film. When I started reading David Suzuki books like Sacred Balance, I began having a stronger understanding and relationship between my own choices and their affects on the world around me. “Live locally” he always said and watch your imprint on the earth have less of an impact. Support your local grocer and restaurants and watch your local economy strive. Making the changes within yourself first then watch it grow as you share it with others.It is very promising that some of these uncomfortable realities are being discussed and debated with more and more people each day. The reality is that life is always, always changing. No matter how hard you may try to hold on to all things of the past we must come to that pinnacle decision and understanding that many things are not working any longer.
So I have this challenge to you all. Take your parents to see this movie. Take your father for Father’s day. You’ll be surprised by what you don’t know. Last night we brought a friend to the film and you could see how the film affected him as he felt compelled to ride his bike and discuss hybrid cars. In many respects none of this is new because we have been told for decades that if we don't change, this is where we are headed. Well, here we are....so what are you going to do about it?
This has been another Observation from the Island.
peace,
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