When you think “Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world” think of Al Gore. Say what anyone will anyone hated by both the Clintons and Bush must have something right about him; and in my opinion this something is the fact Al is a consummate romantic. There are few people with whom I would rather discuss the subject of romance than Al Gore. The politics aside, Al’s romanticism would make him hated by those who have never known romance or somehow have lost the romance of life somewhere along the way.

Al bears the scars of many wounds suffered as a romantic dreamer in his search for truth and meaning in life, his attempts to make some sense out of the prevailing lunacy throughout the world. So it is no wonder much of the criticism directed at him is justified; that is the fate of all those who try to stand up for beauty and romance. But it is this romanticism of Al that draws some of the best and brightest to him as well as making him hated by some others. Hollywood certainly recognized this about Al, and despite the fact Hollywood has done so much damage to America and few have condemned this more than me there is that long history of romance associated with it as the Dream Factory.

One of the problems romantics like Al face in a “modern” America was evidenced by his embarrassing attempt to appear less wooden during the campaign; we all cringed at that kiss onstage, it was embarrassingly overdone almost like an attack on his wife rather than a display of genuine affection. But no one seemed to think this worth spending any time attempting to explain. However, having written a book on the subject of romance I’m going to take some time to explain it now.

To begin, to do an objective analysis of Al’s biography is to discover that as a politician he is out of his element. He is a dreamer, a seeker for truth and meaning in life, and politics is most unforgiving of such dreamers and seekers. Al is a dreamer first and a politician second, a continuing source of friction between him and Clinton while Gore was VP. But when Al’s handlers began to badger him to do something to counter the growing problem of his appearing too wooden during the campaign it resulted in that kiss onstage. The “Dean Scream” may have been characteristic of Dean, but that kiss was not characteristic of Gore. Open displays of passion are not the characteristic of the truly romantic; real romanticism is a very subtle and very complex thing, consequently Al did not know how to be what his handlers were insisting he should be and the attempt was an embarrassingly miserable failure.

I have made it abundantly clear I do not believe humankind is to blame for global warming. I take great exception to Al’s claim concerning this. But I do understand the romanticism of his undertaking the quixotic mission when he must know that despite the Oscar, despite his possibly winning a Nobel he is tilting at windmills. I have genuine compassion for Al because I know that as with Winston Havlock neither money nor fame will satisfy that need he has to make his life count for something, that as a romantic he is doing the best he can in the face of so many enemies of beauty and romance. As to wealth, Emerson noted many wealthy wish they were as satisfied with riches as the poor supposed. But riches do not satisfy the truly romantic, and dreamers want a beautiful world where people do right by each other and nature. And the question should Al decide to run again is whether the White House, whether America in the face of so many threats and dangers is prepared for a romantic dreamer at the helm instead of a politician. For my part, I know the real romantics have the kind of steel in them to face all threats, will always do battle with bullies in order to protect the weaker, to protect beauty and those things that are of real value in life.

Here are some excerpts from the past that I posted on my personal website, and though I utterly disagree with Al’s view on global warming nevertheless I believe he would agree with what I had written back then in the following remarks:

Living as I do in proximity to the Isabella Dam listed as number one in the nation in danger of bursting and I await the San Andreas Fault in the words of seismologists to “explode at any moment” it does seem to me the dominoes are lining up preparing to fall, and the many portents of the End Times do seem to be overtaking us. While Al Gore isn’t wearing the traditional sackcloth and ashes or flipping pages in the Bible as he speaks to make his point despite his theological studies, increasingly those in the scientific community are saying “attention ought to be paid.”

Al Gore is a very intelligent and very well educated man. When I learned how poorly his film was attended by the folks in Bakersfield I wish I could say I was surprised. Nor was this sparse attendance peculiar to Bakersfield. But Al must surely know his “gospel” about global warming even were it true cannot possibly succeed without the cooperation of all nations, not just the efforts of America.

The rain forests are cut down not only for profits, to line the pockets of scoundrels, but to feed millions of mouths, slaves to corporate masters. Spare that tree, whale, etc. and starve? Not likely. The same for the pollutants pumped into the air by all nations. So why does Al preach when he knows his message is to no avail? To take a note from the Bible, that has been the peculiar office of all prophets, even knowing “trade curses all it handles though it be trading in messages from heaven.”

I continue to maintain the possibility Satan is the god of this world accounting for so much lunacy throughout, and there has to be more to this lunacy than the simple greed factor motivating those that rise to power over others, and then use their power to destroy and cause suffering rather than for the benefit of humankind. Guess this is where I get to say it again: I like Al Gore. But, then, to have any politician speak their mind is a breath of fresh air. Some slight exception to this might be Cheney’s outburst, but he probably thinks in expletives most of the time; kind of like Caesar Bush’s favorite description of reporters he doesn’t like.

Ever wonder what a political speech would be like if the speaker actually verbalized what their real thoughts were? In some cases, it is easy to imagine the bleeps would equal the number of non-expletive words coming through. At least I don’t get that impression from Al Gore; who seems to be a civilized man. I have nothing against a speaker displaying passion as long as it is within the bounds of civil language.

In a coarse and vulgar age given to profanity and illiteracy, which increasingly describes this age, I become concerned about a president and vice-president so afflicted. Walt Kelly had Howland Owl giving a political speech and the reporter in attendance asks Pogo: “…you suppose he thinks like he talks?” Pogo replies: “It’s a point what got me worried too.”

Admittedly, my concern goes beyond the use of coarse, vulgar language on the part of politicians, which I have always found grating on my senses, whether written or spoken regardless the source. In too many instances the use of vulgarities is the attempt on the part of the uncivilized and illiterate to express themselves forcibly.

August, 2006: If Al Gore and some scientists are correct the recent heat waves are going to become increasingly worse across America. But whether a climate “cycle” or the portents of humans being the cause comfort is a privilege, not a right. Seeing the article today in the Bakersfield Californian about Yosemite reminded me of the time so many years ago I took an entire summer to tour every national park between here and Minnesota. But I did this in my 1954 Chevy station wagon, which, of course, did not have A/C. It is difficult now to imagine how uncrowded all the places like Yosemite and Yellowstone (as well as a time of uncrowded beaches in SoCal) were back in the 50s; and for some it would be even more difficult to imagine doing all that summer driving without the comfort of an A/C equipped vehicle.

When the phrase “comfort zone” first came into vogue some years ago I considered it somewhat innocuous. After all, what’s the harm? I thought to myself. And properly applied it seemed appropriate to some circumstances though pop psychology took off and ran with it to a silly extreme in too many cases. But with some folks now facing budget-busting utility bills because of trying to stay cool during the summer heat “comfort zone” has a grim reality attached that can’t be ignored, and there is no making light of the fact some have died of the heat.

Recalling the hot Bakersfield summers I knew as a child and my duty of keeping those burlap bags soaked covering our rabbit hutches so the bunnies didn’t expire from the heat, I see the “hutches” in which so many people are living in Bakersfield and elsewhere throughout America and wonder “Where is the water-soaked burlap and flow-through ventilation for people?”

Well, of course rabbit hutches are built for flow-through ventilation and people hutches are not. However, many places back in the 30s and 40s were built in a manner to allow for much of flow-through ventilation since home A/C was virtually unknown and swamp coolers generated a lot of uncomfortable humidity. Dry heat is relatively easy to endure, wet heat is not.

But is seems the demons of comfort were at work when homes and apartments began to be built for A/C, enclosed people hutches that took the comfort of air-conditioning for a “right” much as driving eventually began to be considered a right rather than a privilege.

Ok, here it comes. We know wherever there is money to be made people will often take advantage. And while utility companies are entities without a social conscience, and as we have witnessed are given to corruption throughout manipulating prices for the sake of profits not the comfort of the Great Unwashed, it is a given those dedicated to profits are not going to be touched by those suffering either the heat or enormous utility bills.

Still, it is altogether too easy to become victims of comfort, getting so used to it one may begin to believe it is a right rather than a privilege to be comfortable. And notwithstanding the profit/greed factor with no end in sight to escalating oil prices and concomitant escalating utility bills people had better start thinking “green” rather than giving themselves over to a growing addiction to comfort.