The Case for Leadership
Since the 2006 release of An Inconvenient Truth, the public face of global climate change has been Al Gore. Your reputation and standing on this issue has only been enhanced and validated by winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Through your diligent and tireless effort in addressing the most pressing issue of this century, you have been rewarded with an immeasurable amount of clout and political capital. Unlike hard currency, however, political capital is worthless unless it is spent. American politics at times is a very virulent process, and it is perfectly reasonable to argue that non-involvement is the best way to maintain the positive image you have constructed around global climate change.
Non-involvement in the 2008 election process, however, represents a complete abdication of the right to maintain leadership on the issue of global climate change. I strongly urge you to publicly endorse the candidacy of Barack Obama for the Presidency of the United States of America. No matter how sophisticated and progressive a certain policy might be in its inception, it is useless unless there is strong leadership to lobby on behalf of and implement said policy. There are few issues that are as important and divisive as addressing global climate change. Moving forward on this issue, the United States of America needs leadership from an individual who takes principled stands as opposed to taking a position that is politically expedient; who has the perceived ability to work across party lines; and who has the ability to inspire the American people that it is in their interest to address climate change.
As you know, addressing global climate change does not just require proper American leadership at home, but strong international leadership. In the last decade, the United States has faced a growing credibility problem throughout the world. I offer a unique perspective on this phenomenon. Since 2001, I have permanently lived abroad and become a young member of academia. Despite this fact, I do not consider myself an expatriate, in fact living abroad has only strengthened my position on the need of positive American leadership in the world. With the election of Barack Obama in November 2008, in an instant, the global attitude towards the United States will change. The parochialism that has dominated this perspective since 1993 will immediately cease to exist and the United States again will be able to inspire the world in the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and John F. Kennedy.
Leading the world in protecting our planet requires credibility and trust, not vehemence and suspicion; it requires principled decision making, not decisions driven by polls and election cycles; it requires pragmatic idealists, not ideologic pragmatists; it requires a genuine international perspective, not one based on advancing political ambitions; and it requires the ability to inspire, not breed more cynicism. Of the candidates seeking the highest office in our country this year, only one possesses these necessary attributes: Barack Obama. The title “Nobel Laureate” carries great power and responsibility. With this power, you have the ability to fundamentally have an impact on who will lead the United States and the world in the coming years. Only one question remains: “What action would best forward the cause of combatting global climate change, hoarding political acumen resulting in a perceived vacillation in leadership, or spending political capital and taking a principled position?” As a fellow citizen of the United States and of the only planet we have, I urge you to publicly endorse Barack Obama.