Norwegian political pandering
September 27th, 2007 by Eric
One of the things that bothers me most about our current political system, or at least many of our current politicians, is how little they ask of their constituents. We spend trillions on a war of choice, all while cutting taxes, especially for upper income households, without providing adequate equipment for our troops. We re-up a Farm Bill that over-subsidizes corn even though our government knows about its enormous negative impact on our environment, health, and economy. We are encouraged to indulge in huge vehicles and drive as much as we want in spite of the fact that gas prices are outrageous and we are destroying our environment with each firing of a piston.
I’m not one to wait for my government to tell me what to do and neither should you be. But it would be nice if a politician took a stance on an issue, even or especially one that is unpopular, because they knew it was right, rather than because it would get them reelected.
Politicians in other countries do it. Sometimes they even get reelected. In Norway, for instance, they not only require that their cars be more fuel efficient and ask that their citizens be more environmentally conscious, but, according to Reuters:
No car can be “green,” “clean” or “environmentally friendly,” according to some of the world’s strictest advertising guidelines set to enter into force in Norway next month.
“Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others,” said Bente Oeverli, a senior official at the office of the state-run Consumer Ombudsman.
Well said, Bente.
So you can’t even advertise a vehicle as “environmentally-friendly” in Norway. The article lists several more reasons; most of them even make sense. But the point is that they are taking action based on something that they believe to be right, rather than worrying about who they might upset.
So what can we do about it? Well, first, don’t wait for your government to tell you to do the right thing. And next time someone holds an opinion different than you own, keep an open mind. If enough people do it, we might get some sensible progressive political solutions rather than just sycophantic pandering. Heck, you might even be able to tell one politician from another.
Photo by this Norwegian.
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