“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us….”
As fires rage, violent storms obliterate families and possessions, floods kill, and record heat and drought annihilate crops and our way of living, it must be asked: When will the self-proclaimed political party of “pro-life” admit to reality and find the moral courage to fight the biggest threat to lives, livelihoods, and our planet’s existence?
When will Republicans rise to this seminal challenge—one which is surmountable and obligatory to future generations’ survival? How can an extremist minority political party of one country singlehandedly drive humans and all life forms over the cliff? How can Republicans deny unassailable science and what any rational, clear-eyed person sees is happening to our one and only planet?
Why does the self-purported “party of the military” obstruct our respected military’s call to arms—that climate change is real, human-driven, the greatest national security threat to the US, and requires immediate action?
How can Republicans ignore a growing chorus of eminent global religious leaders who urge we face this threat—that we’re morally obligated?
In his encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis said: “This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”
Climate change is not some pre-ordained, apocalyptic bible prophecy; nor a “natural cycle.” It is a self-inflicted wound that’s capable of healing—but only if we find the moral fiber to act.
It must be said: If Republicans remain denialists and obstructionists, the calamitous death and destruction that lie ahead will be shouldered by Republicans, answerable to God.
Van P. Keele
Hamilton