hear that fiddling? sounds of anti-leadership in government
Yesterday, whether you were at the Tokyo G8 meeting or the Kauai County Council meeting , you’d have seen otherwise well-meaning governments pulling that Nero thang.
Never mind the amazing shifts in corporate and community leadership toward urgent sustainability initiatives, our governments can’t seem to figure out where it stuck its head.
The planet is burning and they’re still fiddling. I saw that movie, and it ended badly. So, you’ll understand my smouldering unrest with the state of governance.
Still wonder why many thoughtful folks have given up on government? Consider these two cases where we really needed government to step forward.
Across the Pacific, the G8 leaders focuses on limiting internet file-sharing, while the Kauai County Council focuses on allowing dogs on the new bikepath.
Wot’s the connection? The former were supposed to be setting targets for emissions reductions, and the latter were supposed to be launching a sustainable energy strategy process.
Oh well.
“Pathetic”, is what Robert Weissman calls the G8 statement on climate change, noting it was “dragged down most of all by the anti-leadership of the United States (via common dreams).
“Opala” (Hawaiian for garbage), is what I call the County Council’s distractions.
Still, let’s face it, even when it is able to focus on sustainability issues, our government seems driven by the need to appear as if it’s doing something…yet few are fooled, and we despair at this leadership vacuum.
Elsewhere I’ve argued that the missing link of government leadership need not impede our progress in the corporate and community spheres.
Yet, wouldn’t it be grand if our government found a way to get back out front? I mean, sheesh, that’s where the people are!
We want to turn this puppy around…in time…in all human communities.
We don’t care if oil companies have the proper incentives, or whether Americans should be able to bring cheaper pills from Mexico and Canada.
Somehow, some way, our government’s gotta drop that self-interested shell game. Like, go read 60 Days And Counting, or something…
If we cannot slice up our loaf of global warming challenges, we are surely toast!
‘Course, many of us…after a day like yesterday…look at our prospects for turning our governments around, and go: that’s not gonna happen.
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