Wayne and Rebecca Madsen

Or, Why Did the American Political System Fail?

Let me state for the record that I believe in global warming. I can't remember a time when I didn't believe that we have been destroying our environment. I believe in doing things about this: I feel better using public transportation everyday, only owning one car, riding my bike, recycling, minimizing energy use, etc. What is interesting about An Inconvenient Truth is not the message it presents (almost all the information was old news to me), but Rebecca's and my response to the rhetoric: it was cringe-worthy.

And not because it was Al Gore talking, but because it was a politician talking. Politicians use rhetoric: it is their primary tool to "rally the troops" and "win the hearts" of their constituents. But I think that sometime in the past 60-70 years, the American political system collapsed on itself and no longer could be effectively used to affect changes. Instead, there exists so many other factors of control (one of the principle I would declare is Foucault's BioPower), but politicians only upset us all. Unless, they are speaking for "our side." Then they become saints (which I would argue is just as frustrating).

I'd love to sit down and have this conversation with my brother-in-law about the many reasons (or even if he believes) that American politics became an impotent reflection of societal changes. As we watched this program, it actually was turning me off to important issues because of the transparent use of rhetorical devices. Now I'm completely fascinated by why I had that reaction to this movie.