see Gore's film

I read an entry on a Myspace blog where the author mocks An Inconvenient Truth because it made less than Gigli in the first week. First of all, many more theaters played Gigli. Also, one film is a documentary whereas the other is a supposed blockbuster. In general documentaries don’t net much profit. Another thing to consider is how much Al Gore’s documentary took in when compared to how many theaters showed it. It actually did rather well per screen, better than nearly all the other movies currently showing. Lastly, it worries me that the people in our nation might be vacant enough to see Gigli over a movie like An Inconvenient Truth. The latter offers insight to a hot topic that, if true, (I put “if true” in for people that refuse to accept reality for a few moments) mandates our attention. Problems arrive on many fronts and a large portion of the American population refuse to recognize this threat. Even if it is bogus, which it is not, people should learn about it, especially considering how many scientists, those in peer-reviewed journals (you know, the ones not paid by Exxon), across the world consistently ask us to listen to their warnings. Our country was built on discourse. It is what makes a democracy strong. An Inconvenient Truth makes the topic accessible by presenting many simple fundamental aspects of the global warming phenomenon.

People who wish to dismiss global warming often look for one facet that begs doubt and then they will magnify this small piece so that the larger picture not only diminishes, but vanishes. Why do people, usually intelligent and curious, block out rational thought when it involves certain topics? I fear that sometimes issues like global warming become dichotomized between the political parties, and then people fear to change one’s opinion on this subject because it could transfer to other aspects. It’s like pride gets involved. If global warming happens as predicted because we do not alter our relationship with the planet then civilization as we know it will fundamentally shift. Why not take time to ponder the possibility? Why must so many citizens of the planet shrug away the evidence without a thought?

I saw a blog that is irritated that the media does not coverage some new study that shows that this will be a light hurricane year. I hope so much that we pass through this season without many hurricanes and that none reach a high level of intensity. After I read this blog I searched for an article that mentions this study. I could not find any. I did discover notable hurricane watch groups that still declare their previous findings that suggest this year will be similar to last year. I wonder who funded the study that says otherwise, and why this blogger would believe this article that mentions one study over the multifarious ones that say otherwise.

Similarly, what irritates me about some negative reviews of Al Gore’s movie is that they dismiss his claims with certain evidence, evidence those other writers’ address and then counter. In turn, the negative review writers should defend their claims against the criticism, but only silence abounds. We need dialogue. We need to discuss important subjects. Instead, people see movies like Gigli, and conservative hacks get away with manipulative writing.