Did your children celebrate Lenin's birthday in school today?
Don't answer "no" right away.
The first Earth Day "teach-in" was celebrated on April 22, 1970, to protest the Vietnam War, pollution, and littering -- and to commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of one of history's most notorious villains.
As the father of communism, the deaths of tens of millions of people can be laid at that Soviet dictator's doorstep. That now forgotten fact about Earth Day's origins should place your child's sudden enthusiasm for recycling, saving the panda bears and energy efficient light bulbs in a new, well, light.
Like the Marxist philosophy that inspired it, today's environmental movement has become, for its most ardent proponents, an ersatz religion. As Joseph Brean recently observed, "in its myths of the Fall and the Apocalypse, its saints and heretics, its iconography and tithing, its reliance on prophecy, even its schisms -- the green movement now exhibits the same psychology of compliance as religion."
In a widely disseminated 2003 speech, Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton called environmentalism "the religion of choice for urban atheists" and "a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths."
Catholics should be concerned. Next time you hear about the latest sacrifices being demanded of us by environmentalists and their friends in politics and show biz (who rarely practice what they preach ) don't just shrug and say "What harm could it do?"
"What harm could it do" is most assuredly NOT the standard by which Catholics are called to live.
Assuredly, Christians are compelled by their Creator to be good stewards of the earth; the very first book of the Bible makes that clear.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
"The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religions respect for the integrity of creation." (#2415)
For radical environmentalists, though, "dominion" is a bad word. Catholic teachings that equate care of the earth with the right to private property go against everything they believe. You see, environmentalists hail mostly from wealthy First World nations. They're really concerned less with "saving the planet" than assuaging their guilt about their own relative affluence. They do this through the "ritual" of recycling, buying carbon offset "indulgences" and following other environmental "commandments."
Recently Cardinal Pell of Australia was asked to comment on fellow Cardinal Giacomo Biffi's controversial declaration that the coming Anti-Christ would be a "pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist."
Pell responded that "there are some forms of deep-green ecology that are deeply pagan and deeply hostile to the special and central place of human beings and especially to Christianity. But as Christians, we must have a reverence for nature."
However, the media "have been warning us of global warming, and that's alternated with warnings of the coming ice age. There have been gigantic climatic changes in the past and I think almost entirely they're beyond human control."
"You see," Pell added wisely, "people without religion are often looking for something to fear."
That millions may fall prey to a seductive New Age faith that seems based on good intentions (and "irrefutable science" that seems to change weekly) is a much greater danger than the remote possibility that polar bears are doomed to extinction. (As a matter of fact, and contrary to mainstream news reports, their numbers have increased, not decreased, in the past few years...)
Your child's immortal soul is infinitely more important than the size of his "carbon footprint", or yours.
Comments
Darn it, you caught us again. Only your sharp and your rapier like wit stands between us and total world domination.
Rats!
My what short memories we have. In the 70's the air quality was horrible, trash was everywhere, you too like Jesus could walk on the water around our major cities. I guess it just got cleaned up kind of like a miracle or was it the incredible efforts of these much maligned environmentalists. Some are nuts, sure, but to disclaim their contribution is even more nuts. What are you thinking?
Certainly there has always been litter and pollution but, as happened with the Thames in Britain as one famous example, steps were taken to clean the place up. People were concerned with their environment long before the 1970's but present day 'environmentalists' act as though they invented the concept.
Environmentalism has become a religion, and a very profitable one. It's not enough to just clean up after yourself anymore. We are now being encouraged to contribute to "Save The Planet", when most of the movement can't even save themselves without government assistance.
After the First Earth Day, a lot of legislation was enacted. Many people realized we needed to act, but others, like Nixon, simply reacted to a strong voting constituency.
Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species, Marine Mammal Protection, Toxic Substances Control, Safe Drinking Water, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation, Resource Conservation and Recovery, et al.
CFCs were banned, lead paint was banned, asbestos was banned, cars got emission controls, AFV and EV incentives, and much more.
The Solar Energy Research Institute was established in 1974, began operating in 1977, and was renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1991. The Reagan Administration gutted its budget in the 1980s, and NREL has struggled with funding under other Administrations. In 2006, they laid off 32 workers. However, their annual budget did climb in both FY2007 and FY2009.
Much has been accomplished, but more remains to be done. Iraq War billions could have bought a whole lot of PVs.
More mindless red baiting from the right! If it was one day earlier, then it would be Hitler's birthday. Since there are 100K's or famous & infamous people in history but only 365 days a year, every day has someone famous born on it, duhhh.
As far as all this right wing babbel about eco religion, well the morons running their mouths about that are usually some sort of Xtian fundamentalist pinheads themselves, so they are just projecting their simple minded fanaticism on others.
Grant
Religion means organized churches, dogma, priests, ceremonies, Environmentalism falls short of that. As far as duping, controlling and ripping off the masses goes, Kathy's RC Church is still #1, followed by certain mega church phonies here in the US.
Well said. Thank you. It is probably worth noticing that no-one is bothering to argue with you, only insist....
good article. its not innocous. evil needs moral cover. the global elitist have chosen environmentalism as cover for eugenics.
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