Why Al Gore may be America's best hope

As many of you know, I've been among the more skeptical voices on Al Gore's coming climatic cataclysms. Unlike pundits on the left, however, those of us on the right sometimes ask ourselves, "What if I'm wrong?"

This type of review is, I think, healthy. It causes us to reassess the evidence, and to think "outside the box." And this is essential. There is no question that the world faces many intracta-ble problems. War, famine, political oppression, resource shortages, infectious diseases, ethi-cally-challenged yet runaway technology, poor education – perhaps even "global warming." So I would hope that each of us could occasionally ask: How did these problems arise, and what can we do about them?

To the honest observer, there is little question that the bulk of these problems are man-made. Governments cause war. Famine is more a problem of transport than lack of food. Political op-pression is caused by a lust for power; resource shortages by growing numbers of growing economies. Infectious diseases are closely linked with air travel and the smaller world it creates. And so it goes.

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On closer examination, it becomes clear that the bulk of these problems are the result of the law of unintended consequences. Put another way (as earlier, plainspoken generations were wont to do), "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The sad fact is – the major actor in these unintended consequences is government. In a free market, private businesses cannot force their product or service on customers, because alterna-tives more to the consumer's liking will quickly emerge. The firm that offered what customers did not want will go away.

Government, however can and does force its "products and services" on unwilling consum-ers. It collects the money through taxes and demands consumption of its goods and services un-der penalty of law. No matter how bad education is, you must still pay for it and avail yourself of its "services." In the world of socialized medicine, socialist politicians decide who lives, who dies, and how long they wait in-between.

By far, the biggest purveyors of "bigger and better government" are voters in the "blue states." As a group, they seem unable to comprehend the law of unintended consequences, or to spot its effects on themselves and others. Rarely does a problem arise for which they do not seek yet another government "solution", even when this "solution" can only make things worse.

Perhaps the reason they fail to see the unintended consequences is because they refuse to call things what they are. In their world socialized medicine run by socialist politicians is "universal care" or a "single payer" system. Why the subterfuge? And when people clearly in the country illegally are overwhelming the medical system, the blue-state solution is not to remove the offenders – but to enforce the reduced services on all Americans through socialized medicine.

Likewise, hoodlums and thugs disrupting the classroom are "disadvantaged youths." And as "disadvantaged" and "youths" they stay in the classroom – ruining the educational prospects of everyone. The fault lies – in the blue state mind – with the individual who arrives with a measur-ing stick to assess their progress. When the failing report arrives, the solution is always the same for these blue-staters: More money shoveled into the failing system. And by all means, vouchers for private schools (consumer choice) must be denied.

By now it should be evident that the blue states are the real problem. By their sheer numbers, blue state residents are expanding enforced consumption of government failures on the rest of America.

Oddly enough, it's in this context that Al Gore's fantastic predictions offer some hope for America. According to Instapundit.com:

"On August 26, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published an article explaining why the city council of Santa Barbara has been prevented from painting a blue line across the city to mark how high the water will be if you believe Al Gore's prediction that global warming will make the oceans rise by 23 feet. The idea was not defeated because people realize that Gore's prediction is silly and wrong, but because a realtor threatened a lawsuit based on the argument that property values below the line would fall."

Should this sea level rise occur rapidly, of course, the problem of blue-staters forcing their failed systems on the rest of America would be solved immediately. Sometimes, "mother nature" really does know best.

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