Getting Wealthy at All Costs

DURING HIS INAUGURAL speech, president obama said something to the effect that he fully intends, during his second term, to address climate change. One  wonders whether he means by this that he plans to talk about it, or perhaps even try to do something about it, though heaven only knows what he, or anyone else at this point, is realistically capable of doing.

Everyone applauded, except the republicans. There are several possible reasons for this. One possibility is that they were dozing, and failed to hear the remark. Or, perhaps they were waiting for an "applause" sign to flash on, after the fashion of a live studio television show.

Maybe the republicans are so fanatically devoted to ending climate change, reversing global warming, and restoring environmental halth that they felt the president's comments lacked force, and were waiting for something stronger.

Or what about this! We all know that the social status of the messenger is as important as the message. Would the repubs have applauded if a life sized replica of ronald reagan or barry goldwater had transmitted something like "extremism in defense of climate change is no vice!", or, "climate change will be dealt with through free market forces"....

The best bet, however, is that republicans simply don't want to hear obama, or maybe anyone else, say anything at all about climate change. Some of them, like Oklahoma senator inhoff, believe climate change is a hoax perpetrated by liberals, while others are convinced that whereas climate change might be a  problem, or might not be, it is entirely a natural phenomenon, with nothing to be done about it.

The vast majority of republicans are just plain old worried about corporate profits, and economic prosperity. They fear that when obama talks climate change, he is preparing to propose all manner of economically stifling environmental regulations for industry which will gut profits and inhibit the formation of capital, profit, and material wealth. Gotta protect those campaign contributors...

The issue is money. Let obama rant all he wants about global warming, so long as he leaves hard earned corporate profits alone. Wouldn't that be nice, to address cliate change, without doing anything to slow economic growth? Should we convert to an environmentally friendly ecomomic system? Only if is doesn't infringe on the sacred right, through honest work, to get rich.