Way To Go Al
Apple’s home page reflects the attitude I’d expected to see throughout the country upon the news that Al Gore, along with the IPCC, had won the Nobel Peace Prize. In case the page is gone by the time you check out this blog, here’s a link to the image. It reads: “Al has put his heart and soul, and much of his life during the past several years, into alerting and education us all on the climate crisis. We are bursting with pride for Al and this historic recognition of his global contributions.”
One of the preconditions for a country to be great is that it must forgo pettiness and embrace its moments of greatness. So surely, Apple’s home page is a reflection of the broader reaction across the country… right?
Of course not.
Instead of seeing universal national pride, I saw, as Der Spiegel did, that even one of America’s countrymen winning the Noble Peace Prize couldn’t unite the country in universal pride. Instead, political hacks, bloggers (typically conservatives), news services (particularly those owned by Rupert Murdock for some strange reason ;-), spent the day taking a swing at Al Gore, his apparently only recent interest in the environment (hello?, this is the guy whose pro-environment track record was so extensive that he was attacked on it by Bush Sr. during the ‘92 presidential campaign), his movie, the Nobel Peace Prize, the motives of the selection committee, liberalism, the stupidity of the rest of the world, and even Jimmy Carter (for the crime of having won the prize in 2002).
You know what guys? Just like anyone, he has his flaws. His words can easily be picked apart and fault found, just like anyone else’s. Like the work of any advocate, his actions are not always perfectly in harmony with his advocacy. That’s a conversation for another day. Can’t we, for just one day, collectively share pride in the fantastic recognition for the achievements of one of our countrymen? Do you realize how foolish and pathetic you look to the rest of the world?