Friday, May 26, 2006

Focus on Focus: Global Warming

I tried to resist. It's been banging around my head since Monday. If he's going to keep talking about it, I'm going to keep writing about it. Sorry.

Dr James Dobson opened his Friday May 19 radio show with a Focus on the Family position statement on global warming.

The highlights for me were:
"Now, we’ve not weighed in on this environmental concern in the past but people are asking us how we see it and I think it’s time that we responded."
Well you haven’t weighed in since April 27th. The fact that people are asking is remarkable and encouraging to me!
"A Vice President for the Nation Association of Evangelicals (NAE) Richard Cizik is convinced that global warming should be the most important social issue that confronts us. In fact, he has stated recently (last week) that those who are skeptical of global warming are immoral. That is pretty close to being a quote."
'That is pretty close to being a quote' means it isn’t a quote. While I don’t think it’s impossible that Cizik said this, I think it’s unlikely.
"As such, we believe that Richard Cizik and his colleagues are dividing evangelicals and setting them at odds with each other, as though we have to choose between that issue and the others that we feel so strongly about."
Interesting, I remember feeling the same way about Dr Dobson May 5.
"What Richard Cizik and his associates want us to do is roll back the use of fossil fuels (oil) to the 1998 levels, or even earlier, which would paralyze industry and put millions of people out of work."
This is an appeal to fear.

This roll back was approved by our conservative republican US Senate last year as a reasonable approach to the problem of reducing fossil fuel use.

I know a guy who has rolled back his automobile use to pre-1988 levels. Guess what? He’s found more time to spend with his family. When they go places they go together, he doesn’t just drive them. Sometimes the trips even turn into adventures!

Just tonight his The Family, plus a neighbor girl walked together to the community garden to check out the miracle of vegetables! On the way home his The Wife said something like, “thanks for getting us all to walk to the garden. The Boys are so comfortable walking through the neighborhood.” That’s pretty close to being a quote too.
"The net effect is anti-capitalistic and an underlying hatred for America."
This is a divisive statement. This statement sets me at odds with other people. Additionally, Dr Dobson should try to avoid conversations about who does and does not hate America.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you have a complete transcript/audio file of the 5.19 Focus segment? It's no longer posted on their site.

mytzpyk said...

Sorry Steve. Unfortunately I have neither.