Why I voted Green

Posted by admin on Mar 8, 2006 in Issues & Ideas | 0 comments

Matt Laine

I know you’ve heard it all before. You’ve read the pamphlets, heard the warnings, and seen the pictures. They tell you that the world is in trouble and you are to blame. Stop it immediately or suffer the consequences. A shrug of the shoulders, a blink of the eye and it’s water under the bridge. Just one person. Only one man. What can I do anyway?

I’m not going to give you a bunch of numbers. I won’t even tell you a single sad story. By the time you finish reading this you won’t have been told what behaviour to cease, what food to stop eating, or what car not to buy. But if I can do anything at all, perhaps, just maybe, you’ll care a little bit more.

First of all, you are not the problem. In fact, you probably recycle, don’t litter (often), and maybe even use both sides of the page. You would probably take public transportation if it was even remotely accessible or convenient. You are not the reason I voted for the Green Part of Canada.

I didn’t vote Green so that someone would legislate a bunch of ways to make life less enjoyable. I didn’t vote Green so someone would desroy all the Styrofoam cups or make all plastic bags disappear. I didn’t vote Green to see an end to fur coats or leather bags. It’s really not about those things at all.

I didn’t vote Green because of aerosol cans, or because of greenhouse gases. I didn’t vote Green to see an end to fried chicken or filet mignon. I didn’t vote Green so you could never own an SUV, or so that governments could never disturb the caribou habitat for the oil they so desperately need.

I voted Green because even the ugliest of all of nature’s wonders is more beautiful than a parking lot. I voted Green because something inside me says it matters that tropical rainforests are disappearing each day. I voted Green because nature is the single greatest gift that God ever gave to mankind.

In a time when everyone is looking to extremes, I appeal to moderation. Nature is more then just raw material. It is a gift given to us by a benevolent creator for our enjoyment, and use, but also for our stewardship. We live on a planet teeming with life, in a universe surrounded by desolate rocks. We are special and fortunate for all that we have been given.

Our water is finite. Our oil is finite. Our trees are finite. Our world is finite. We may not see the end of our resources in our lifetime. Our children may not see it in theirs. But unless someone speaks up and appeals on behalf of that which has no voice, the end will come.

I voted Green because I want my children and my children’s children to experience the wonder that only comes when a jet engine can’t be heard in the distance. I voted Green because if I don’t, who will?