Throughout the summit, this young man had been the picture of confidence and composure, briefing dozens of journalists a day on what had gone on during each round of negotiations and what the various emission targets meant in the real world. Despite the challenges, his optimism about the summit’s prospects never flagged. Once it was all over, however, and the pitiful deal was done, he fell apart before our eyes. Sitting in an overlit Italian restaurant, he began to sob uncontrollably. “I really thought Obama understood,” he kept repeating.
I have come to think of that night as the climate movement’s coming of age: it was the moment when the realization truly sank in that no one was coming to save us. The British psychoanalyst and climate specialist Sally Weintrobe describes this as the summit’s “fundamental legacy”—the acute and painful realization that our “leaders are not looking after us we are not cared for at the level of our very survival.” No matter how many times we have been disappointed by the failings of our politicians, this realization still comes as a blow. It really is the case that we are on our own and any credible source of hope in this crisis will have to come from below?
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Kein
The Messenger's of Allah faced similar challanges. Their message, far from being an opiate for the masses was a force for their liberation. The toughest opposition to the Messengers was always from the powers that be, the ruling elite, the establishment who could only see their challange to status quo as a threat.
Islam is Green :)
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