ODD
PEOPLE
by
Antonio C. Antonio
June
5, 2014
“Environmentalism”
and “environmentalists” are enigmatic words and terms that still gives cold
chills down the spines of a lot of people.
Environmentalists and environmental advocates are, perhaps, one of the
most misunderstood groups of people in the world. Environmental issues and concerns are
seemingly not that popular, are not the “in” things and are ordinarily brushed
aside as immaterial or inconsequential to people’s daily lives. Pro-environment people are often described as
“odd”.
This
is not to say though that people generally do not care. The underlying stake of everyone is for a
better future for tomorrow’s generations.
Undeniably, all human beings are concerned, even in varying levels,
about the future. Therefore, it will not
be fair to assume that people, in all their goodness, will deliberately harm
Mother Earth.
Global
warming, protracted winters, abnormally strong typhoons and flooding caused by
torrential rains are enough warning signs to mankind that something is terribly
wrong. There are those who are of the
opinion that people will only react when they could already feel the effect of
any inconvenience in their lives.
Changes in weather conditions provide the impetus to generate reactions. After Typhoon Yolanda, now is the best time
to engage the public in the re-examination of their roles and contributions to
these dire and troublesome changes. But
engaging the public is not everything… people should understand the consequence
of environmental abuse.
“Normal”
people have a tendency to look and treat “odd” people in a condescending
way. Their behaviour is often seen as
eccentric because the manner by which “odd” people show concern for the
environment, process present situations, then engage others to some kind of
individual or collective action is not commonly understood. We should bear in mind that what is more
important is why “odd” people show concern for the environment… that “odd”
people only want a better world for the future generations. Do we share this concern or not? If we do not share their concern for the
environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are “normal”. If we do share their concern for the
environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are “odd”.
Just
my little thoughts…
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