Former President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt is credited with the beginnings of the environmental movement in our nation. He began stating his intention to preserve our natural resources by saying: “Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us to restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations.”
“The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America” is a recent historical biography by Douglas Brinkley. The book tells of the 230 million acres of land protected by Roosevelt; 150 million of which was set aside as national forests.
“There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country. Just as we must conserve our men, women and children, so we must conserve the resources of the land on which they live.” –Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt’s efforts were opposed in Congress by many who believed in unrestrained business exploitation. His work has resulted in his label as our nation’s greatest environmentalist.
It is important to note that Roosevelt was a Republican. He would be shocked and even angry with today’s GOP; they refuse to believe the science which proves that man is destroying our natural resources, and endangering the world through the growth of climate change. Those who call themselves ‘Republicans’ today would be in the group opposing Teddy’s intentions.
So what changed? Why is the Republican Party no longer the party of Lincoln or Roosevelt? The answer is simple; we need only to look at its owners.
The fact is that the GOP is owned by the one-percent. It has never denied this truth; Republican politicians simply attempt to downplay reality.
This new and devolved Republican Party makes constant efforts to allow the growth of businesses which pollute the environment merely for the purpose of excessive profit. There is no concern for the future of our grandchildren or the planet they will be forced to endure. The oceans are rising; temperatures and incidents of severe weather are reaching extremes unknown before; the supply of fresh water is declining as droughts caused by climate change dry up our streams, rivers, and lakes.
This is of no concern to the party that believes in profit before people. The Republican Party is the only entity in the world which denies the warnings of 95 percent of the world’s climatological scientists.
I have made the claim for years that the Republican Party is non-existent. Not one of the real Republicans of the past could imagine that an openly racist, bigoted, and misogynistic man would be leading their former Grand Old Party. None of them would understand why their descendants are allowing the destruction of Roosevelt’s beloved country.
There is no pride in being a Republican today. Not a single member of the party places the needs and concerns of the majority of the American people ahead of his or her ambitions and their owners.
Denying climate change caused by man is ignorance. In the case of the Republican Party, it is ‘ignorance for profit.’
It is hypocrisy for today’s Republicans to profess admiration for great former Republican leaders. They do not believe in the policies of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Reagan, or George H.W. Bush.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Photo Courtesy of David
The Truth With No Restrictions 