Don't Believe in Climate Change? Cali Gov. Brown Blames You for Wildfires
Most things in the world don’t last forever. That’s just a fact of life.
But the raging hot debate over climate change? That very well could.
To be fair, it’s certainly a tricky subject.
The desire to preserve the Earth for future generations is noble in and of itself. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting the only planet we have to last as long as humanly possible.
But on the flip side, the preservation of the Earth shouldn’t come at the active detriment to its current residents.
More important than that, however, is the fact that just about all the science around climate change is a matter of dispute. Numbers supposedly never lie, but they can certainly be skewed to favor one ideological viewpoint over another, and that very much seems to be the case in the debate over climate change.
Scientists much more qualified than I have certainly presented interesting arguments for both sides of that debate. And that’s fine. Scientific discourse is integral to making tangible progress.
You know what’s not fine? Demonizing people who are choosing to believe one scientific argument over another.
Unfortunately for decent people everywhere, that’s often the go-to plan for the left no matter what the issue. Liberals like to utilize the tactic in all avenues of discourse, but the debate over climate change seems to bring out the worst in them.
Take, for example, Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown.
A frequent and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, Brown has made no secret about where he stands on many political and societal issues. And again, that’s fine in a vacuum. People are allowed to hold differing viewpoints. But making blatantly erroneous claims while simultaneously attacking people for a national tragedy is crossing a line.
And that’s exactly what Brown did during a news conference on Saturday, according to PJ Media.
“This is truly a tragedy that all Californians can understand and respond to and be very sympathetic. We’re going to do everything we can. We’re requesting a presidential declaration, funding coming from the federal government; of course, there will be efforts from the state government as well. It’s a time to pull together and work through this tragedy,” Brown said.
So far, so good. The tragedy in California that has both claimed and ruined lives is a national tragedy that we should all sympathize with.
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But leave it to “Governor Moonbeam” to take that noble sentiment and turn it on its head.
“And we have to take care of the whole range of threats and conditions and actions that are part of our living with fire, living with fire threats,” Brown said, according to PJ Media. “And while we do more forest management — both the federal government, which has more land than the state government, and by private people in the state — we have to all do more.”
Brown went on to respond to a controversial tweet Trump published Saturday morning blaming the state’s management of its forests by turning around and blaming everyone who doesn’t agree with liberals for the current conflagratiosn in California.
“But managing all the forests everywhere we can does not stop climate change. And those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we’re now witnessing and will continue to witness in the coming years.”
Those who deny climate change are “definitely contributing” to the loss of life California is now experiencing? That is a vile and despicable sentiment to spread.
Hard as it might be for an arrogant Californian to believe, there are millions and millions of Americans who not only have never set foot in the Golden State, they never plan to and have no desire to. What they believe or don’t believe about climate change isn’t what set the firest that are taking lives and destroying property in California now.
And it’s not what created the conditions that made it possible.
Trying to blame political and philosophical opponents won’t help Brown and his state deal with the reality of the fires they’re facing now. All it does is distract attention.
As someone who actually takes a somewhat moderate view on the topic of climate change, I cannot condemn Brown’s comments enough.
Sadly, demonizing opponents, on the shakiest of grounds, is a leftist tactic that is becoming far too common in 2018.
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