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John Kerry in Manhattan
Senator John Kerry (and his wife Teresa) are currently touring the country to promote their new book, This Moment on Earth; last night, as part of that effort, they did a public sit-down with Charlie Rose at the 92nd Street Y.
John Kerry gives the impression of a man freed from fetters; that's not a coincidence, given that he's decided to withdraw his hat from the 2008 ring. Whether the country is well-served by that is another question entirely, but it certainly seems to be working for him. There's a new looseness there, for want of a better expression, a feeling that he can now say what he wants to say without fear of consequences. In part, this new ability to speak his mind without having to parse every statement has led him to a position of leadership on Iraq - check out SetaDeadline.com - and one that's coincidentally far ahead of any of the current contenders for the Oval Office (cough Hillary cough); it's also in part manifest in this new book.
The most ordinary items of our daily life - perhaps especially these items - are worth reevaluating in light of our precarious relationship with the earth. Even something as simple as, say, a baby's diaper.
He goes on from that to examine the environmental impact of the humble disposable diaper; among other things, the eighteen billion diapers used annually in this country make up fully a third of the solid waste disposed every year in U.S. landfills. That's an interesting conversation to have from an environmentalist point of view; of course, if he were running for President, certain conservative cable news networks would now be running screaming headlines to the effect that John Kerry wants to take away your baby's Pampers.
Thankfully, the nation won't be enduring that particular bit of creative idiocy from Fox. We also won't have the chance to have this thoughtful (if occasionally verbally challenged) man serve as our President, and I'm not sure that we're in turn well served by not having that option. But in the interim, we can read his careful take on the state of our environment, and ponder what might have been had he prevailed two years ago.
A thoughtful, constructive,
A thoughtful, constructive, insightful account. Thanks. I was there at the Y that evening, and this piece is the only public account that bears any resemblance to what transpired during that interview. If more people- reporters and ordinary citizens alike-spent their energy thinking and listening, like Bouldin, and fewer people indulged in cynicism, indifference and snark, our country would be in better shape than it is.
very nice piece, thanks
Thanks for this thoughtful, insightful take on a thoughtful man and an important subject. I was at this event, and yours is the only journalistic account I've read that bears any resemblance to the interview I witnessed. If more people - reporters and citizens alike - spent more time actually listening and thinking, about real issues, and wasted less time on cynicism, celebrity gossip, studied indifference, and snark, our country would be in better shape than it is. (My apologies if this turns out to be a repeat comment; my first reply seemed to have been lost in cyberspace, so I've attempted to reconstruct it here.. )
Very interesting!
One of my favorite books on the environment, "Our Angry Earth" by Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl in 1991, examined the practical daily things that any citizen can do to help our environment. The Kerrys' book is the first I've heard of since that mentions the small every day ways we can improve the environment. I can't wait to read this book.
I'm also very impressed by the Senator Kerry's setadeadline.com Web site that was mentioned in this piece. It's nice to see a senator who isn't afraid to encourage citizen activism. I signed on and hope everyone who cares about ending the Iraq war does so too.