Today is Heidi’s 29th birthday. I have covertly set up a post on her blog where people can go to send her a quick happy birthday message. Please take a moment to let Heidi know that you are glad that God put her on this earth. I know I am.
In a world that has become so insanely hysterical about global warming, it’s refreshing to hear someone — especially a celebrity — talk about caring for the environment without predicting the end of the world or defending the moral necessity of investing in carbon credits (don’t even get me started).
This interview with Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, appeared in this month’s issue of Men’s Health magazine and I wanted to share part of it here. With Rowe as our spokesman, real men can care about the environment again without looking like a bunch of wacko greenie pansies.
Was that a bit too harsh?
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There’s a rumor going around that Dirty Jobs is the greenest show on television. Does that surprise you? Not really. I’m the one spreading it.
Any truth to it? Plenty. More than half of the 200 jobs we’ve profiled in the past 3 years benefit the environment in a direct way.
Why do you think people have been slow to notice? Because Dirty Jobs has no environmental agenda. We’re not trying to save the planet or call attention to the latest crisis. We’re just profiling real people who work hard and get dirty in the course of putting bread on the table.
You’re talking about garbage haulers and sewage workers? Yeah, but I’m also talking about entrepreneurs. Like the guys in Florida who scuba dive for golf balls in alligator-infested water hazards and resell them online. Or the dairy farmer in New England who markets biodegradable flowerpots made from cow poop. Or the pig rancher in Las Vegas who collects leftovers from casino buffets and feeds the slop to his swine. These people are greener than Al Gore in a cabbage patch.
Is that what you meant when you told Larry King “brown is the new green?” Actually, what I said was Brown before Green. Like in the dictionary.
So your position on the issue is alphabetical? That’s funny. Very few people who want to talk about the environment these days have a sense of humor.
Why do you think that is? Because the “Greens” have been busy scaring the crap out of us. Haven’t you heard? “Your SUV is melting Greenland. Your hairspray put a hole in the ozone. Your kids are going to inherit a charcoal briquette.”
Well, the stakes are a little scary. Should we really be laughing about global warming? No. But relying on fear and guilt to modify behavior usually leads to comedy. Like in the hardware store, where they tell me the plastic rake in aisle 4 is “environmentally friendly” because it doesn’t use wood. Then, further down the same aisle, they promote a steel rake with a wooden handle as “environmentally friendly” because it uses a “renewable resource.” What a crock. I still don’t know the right answer to “plastic or paper?” Does anybody?
You seem a little agitated. I am. Look around this hotel room. Nice, right? Well there’s a sign on the back of my toilet that says, “It’s Your Planet—Keep It Green!” The sign is covered with little raindrops with sad faces drawn into them. What do you think they’re trying to tell me? You think they’re trying to save water by asking me to not flush my pee?
So you have a problem with saving water? Not at all. Hell, I’d pee in the shower if it’d save me money. The thing is, who enjoys the savings? Do you think I’ll be seeing a discount when I check out? Some sort of urine rebate?
Uh . . . probably not. Hotels are saving millions of dollars by guilting their customers into forgoing fresh towels and linens in the name of environmental responsibility. Those same hotels are happy to sell me a bottle of water for $5—a plastic bottle, no less! You have to laugh.
So you’re sympathetic to the cause, but critical of what exactly – the execution? If we’re talking about the importance of cleaning up after ourselves and leaving a light footprint, I’m all for it. But really, I’m tired of being lectured by people who care more for the planet than the people on it. There’s a lot of “inconvenient truth” in the environmental movement, and a ton of manipulation. That leads to hypocrisy and opportunism.
You’ve put some thought into this. I’m not done. The people I meet on Dirty Jobs would never describe themselves as “green,” yet they do more to clean up our environment in the course of making a living than any celebrity ever will. If you were looking to launch an environmental awareness campaign that real people can relate to, I’d say “Get Down with Brown,” and hire a plumber to act as spokesman.
So you’re not impressed with the efforts of people like Al Gore and Leo DiCaprio? I’m not going to question anyone’s agenda or motive. But I strongly suspect that millions of responsible Americans who see themselves as environmentally conscious have been turned off by the marketing of green, and might feel uneasy about falling in line behind movie stars and politicians. Celebrities might generate awareness, but flying around in private jets and being famous doesn’t help our environment. Picking up other people’s garbage does.
Updated Monday, July 21
Let the record show that the largest percentage of readers polled (42%) agree with me that toilet seat assessment is the way to go when considering the use of paper seat covers. In a close second, 35.5% of people opt never to tempt fate and would cover the seat every time, even at Martha Stewart’s house. And bringing up the rear (no pun intended) is the 22.5% of people who were raised by monkeys and think that personal hygiene is merely a fad.
Let the record also show that this post garnered more comments than the one celebrating the birth of my son. I have a very peculiar reader base.
Thanks everyone; this was fun!
Do you always use the provided toilet seat covers in restrooms?
I discussed this with Cameron today and we have somewhat differing views. He says that he would never think of not using a seat cover and I am all for assessing the restroom’s cleanliness level before making a decision either way. If the restroom appears clean, then I have no issues. If I am at the airport in Reno, however, I will always opt for protection.
So what about you? Please take a moment to respond to my official, scientific poll on the right-hand column. If you decide to participate, you are required to be 100% honest — don’t worry, you will remain anonymous.
The poll closes a week from today, so weigh in now
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If you simply want to make fun of me and tell me how disgusting I am for selectively using the seat protectors, the comment link is below. Try to be kind.
It turns out that the link to the debate I posted below is no longer on iTunes. I have included it here in mp3 format so that you can listen directly from this page:
If you enjoy this episode of the Dennis Prager Show, I strongly recommend that you subscribe to the free podcasts of his show. It’s not all politics — he covers a wider range of interesting topics than any talk show host I have ever heard. Even my wife loves listening to him — and she hates talk radio.
I specifically recommend that you check out his weekly Male/Female hour. His insights on marriage and male sexuality are spot-on and he holds nothing back. If you are married (man or woman), your thinking will definitely be challenged.
Many of you who know me well can attest to the fact that my mind doesn’t react favorably to being tired (or on heavy medication). When it gets late, I tend to lose that filter that usually rests somewhere between my brain and my mouth. This makes it possible for me to say things that I normally wouldn’t on any given afternoon — nothing cruel or nasty, just different from my normal self.
Now that Harrison is here, I have many more opportunities to be filter-less. In fact, my lack of sleep is even taking a toll on my actual sleep time. It seems that I have developed a proclivity to walking and talking in my sleep (ala Greg Rohlinger).
Here are two incidents from this past week that my wife told me about:
Heidi woke up at 1:30 and noticed that I wasn’t in bed. She came out to the living room and found me laying on the couch in the dark and asked, “Babe, what are you doing out here?” My response was, “I’m just uploading videos! You wouldn’t understand!” I remember nothing.
The other incident was a few nights earlier. Heidi had just finished feeding Harrison in the living room, laid him down in his crib, and crawled back in bed next to me. I greeted her by saying, “I don’t know who you are, but I’m sure glad you’re here.” Just so you know, wives love to hear that from their husbands.
People always tell me not to wish away Harrison’s life by looking forward to him growing up, but I believe that the day he starts sleeping through the night will be a glorious one in my life. I doubt I’ll look back in 20 years and think, “If only I had never wished away that time in Harrison’s life when I wandered aimlessly through the house at night and said strange things to my wife, my dog, and any inanimate object I ran into.”
I love my son, but I need my sleep!
Happy 4th of July everyone! We are blessed to live in a land where freedom and liberty are ways of life, not something we have to fight for every day. Let’s remember the sacrifices and courage of the millions of others who have made America what it is today.
God bless America!
Politics is a necessary evil. It can be so maddening and full of hype that many people decide to completely ignore what is happening in the political realm and choose to turn their attention to more easily-digested forms of sadism (like watching Wipeout).
Even though politics can be frustrating, I believe that it is important for each voter to take a good look — beyond mere emotions — at what’s at stake. While many political junkies are obsessed with trying to convince you to jump on their party-line bandwagon, I think its more important to get a clear grasp on where each party really stands so that you can be well-informed enough to make a confident decision in the voting booth this November.
One great way to be clear about the differences between the parties is to listen to this exchange between conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager and liberal newspaper editor Arriana Huffington. I promise that this is no shouting match, its both friendly and respectful. More importantly, it draws a clear distinction between the parties and their political and social ideals.
Clicking the image below will open up an iTunes podcast screen where you can download and listen to the debate for free. Its about 35 minutes long, but well worth every second. If you don’t have the time now, I recommend that you download it to your iPod and listen to it at work or in the car.
Update: This link now points to a new post with audio streaming.
If you are not interested in taking the time to understand the deep and dividing differences represented in the upcoming election, then this video will probably be of more significance to you as the election draws nearer:
Is it always best to be totally authentic in public, to be completely true to your thoughts, feelings, or perspectives, as opposed to covering up your true self or “wearing a mask”?
Most people’s first inclination would be to say that we should strive to “be ourselves” at every opportunity and in all situations. Obviously, no one thinks that being brutally honest 100% of the time, with no consideration for the feelings of others is a good thing, but I think that most people in society today would say that authenticity is generally better than hiding true feelings. That sounds good in theory, but in practice it doesn’t seem to me to be a positive habit, especially when other people are involved.
If I am going to a BBQ with friends and my wife and I get into a heated argument on the way, my authenticity would dictate that I enter the house with the same attitude of frustration that I left the car with. But who in the world wants to be at a BBQ with a couple who are so visibly in conflict? It seems to me that it would be pretty selfish of me to impose my foul mood on the rest of the people I interact with that day. Don’t I have an obligation to hide my feelings and do whatever I can to enjoy (or at the very least act like I am enjoying) the party? Is that fake? Yes. Is it the best thing to do? Yes.
Dennis Prager, one of the clearest-thinking and most influential people on my thinking, has written and spoken extensively on the problems with people who refuse to act happy when they don’t feel happy. He believes that acting happy is a moral obligation. We cover up our “authentic” body odor with deodorant and bad breath with mouth wash because we don’t want to impose our nastiness on others, but many people don’t hesitate to impose their emotional nastiness on everyone.
Feelings are not good for making decisions on how to behave; they tend to be very inwardly-focused and completely ignore innocent bystanders. It’s important to be aware of feelings of frustration or unhappiness, but if you wear those feelings on your sleeve all the time, that “authenticity” tends to spill over onto others, usually in a very negative way.
We should always be mindful of the impact of our attitudes on the people around us, even if it means that we throw our precious authenticity out the window.
Heidi and I have been blown away by the number of people who prayed for us as we awaited Harrison’s arrival into this world and his arrival into our family. We knew that our friends and family were praying, but we are learning each day that many more people were lifting this adoption up in prayer than we ever realized.
I have had people I haven’t talked to in years call or write to tell us that they had been praying. At church the other day, a lady we had never met in our lives came up, gave us a hug, and said that she was so happy that God answered her prayers. This woman never met us, but prayed to God on our behalf. How cool is that?
Perhaps the most incredible story of prayer for Harrison came this morning when my sister told me about her former boss’ prayer:
In the days before we brought Harrison home, my sister was chatting with her old boss and he asked how Heidi and I were doing (we had met him on a trip to D.C. three years earlier). Erin explained the situation we were in and how we were worried that we may have to go back home without the child we have prayed so fervently for. He told her that he was heading out of the country soon and would be sure to say a special prayer for us.
A few days later, he was in Jerusalem, Israel on business. One day, he took some time to go visit The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the traditionally accepted site of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection). While he was there, he purchased a prayer candle on our behalf, had a priest bless it, and placed it at the location where Jesus is believed to have been crucified. His prayer for us was that the child would be ours.
This happened on Friday, June 6 — a few hours before Harrison officially became our son.
Amazing.
