One of the things that irritates me the most, as a journalist and now as a commentator, is when a piece of information or a thought-provoking question gets misconstrued sometime between the point of transmission and the point of reception.
Friday morning, I posed a question to our FOX40 News Facebook page (by the way, that's a great resource for invoking dialogue), asking our fans to explain to me why the majority of conservatives (I used the phrase "by and large") criticized the federal government for responding to the recent oil spill crisis off the coast of Louisiana, while objecting to many pieces of environmental legislation in the past.
Unless, of course, the environmental policy is part of a market-based solution. In 2000, the Republican Party officially endorsed the idea that the economy and the environment must mutually benefit each other, suggesting the way to energy independence and a cleaner environment was to offer incentives to companies who opt for alternative sources of energy and greener methods of conducting business.
In other words, the Republican Party's policy for a better environment is to purchase the conscience of major corporations -- trade one green for another.
But, in their defense, not all Republicans have a conscience that can be bought. Senator John McCain, for example, recognizes the threat of global warming and proactively supports research to determine the causes and solutions of global warming. McCain also supported legislation that would have created a cabinet for the Environmental Protection Agency and supported legislation that would see an end to commercial whaling and the illegal trade of whale meat.
I suppose every party has their version of Joe Lieberman.
In any regard, after 30 or so comments, my question went unanswered. Instead, what I thought might happen, did happen -- people grew angry, called me "ignorant" and "biased" and suggested that, as a conservative voter, they adopted green habits in their everyday lives.
Good, I say. But why take offense to a question? Any person who is offended by an idea or a question clearly has something rattling within their own conscience.
My question never suggested conservatives didn't care about the environment, only that the majority of conservatives criticize environmental legislation while at the same are now criticizing the federal government's failure to act immediately following a potential environmental disaster.
And I still don't have an answer to that question. Maybe I'm just asking the wrong people.
