the politics of charisma vs. the earth

As long as everyone remains mired in the politics of charisma, not a lot of progress will be made and we're all screwed. On the other hand, the recent rise of Al Gore gives me hope that the world slowly is going beyond the politics of charisma.

I bought stock in Al Gore in the early nineties -- thousands and thousands of shares. I read "Earth in the Balance" and routinely referred to him as the exceptional statesman of our time. To my utter perplexity, I found that many people were possessed by a bizarre and inexplicable need to scoff at him. I was even more befuddled that he didn't win the 2000 election by a landslide.

I got tired of hearing all the tired old arguments about charisma. Gore is a man with a message, a statesman with content, which in the real world translates into leadership.

So now he has an Oscar-winning film which we shareholders know is nothing other than an extension of his book, "Earth in the Balance". But all the idiots that were too lazy and stupid to read the book are now having an "oh yeah, there's something there" moment. These people are completely confused in their belief that there is now something new about Al Gore that was not there from the get go. They are latecomers and wannabes, and while it's great that they're finally seeing the light, it's a bit ridiculous to us long-time shareholders. This is because we know that the person we bought stock in by 1996 is the exact same person that the mob is clamoring to own in 2006.

My prediction is that in the year 2016, a majority will be despairing the "politics of charisma", as though that were a newly-discovered idea.

For those who doubt me imagine this: a scale with "charisma" on the one side, and the entire planet on the other. Oh yes, charisma is so important that the impending destruction of the planet must take a back seat to it. Unfortunately people won't let go of this perverse logic until the truth bites them very hard in the ass.