Michael Jackson made a strong political statement when this video was produced in 1995. He may have been ahead of his time when it comes to using media as a means to influence change (whether for the better or worse) for the environment. Al Gore and his Inconvenient Truth was certainly not the first attempt to tweak at our collective earth conscience, and I'm certain it won't be the last. But when it comes to messaging statements about the environment, I think I prefer it in the music format of Michael Jackson. It appears more tolerable and less sanctimonious.
I'm not signing up for Greenpeace anytime soon, making plans to cast a vote for the Green Party in Canada, or converting to environmentalism as my new religion, but I do love this planet we were given and all the beauty that she came with when we inherited her. For me, it's people before planet, although some would argue you can't have a viable people if you don't have a viable planet. And around and around we go...
I wonder if our forefathers (Both Canadian and American) could have ever predicted platforms for the environment seeping into our politics, or that it would even be "necessary." When it comes to making decisions for Mother Earth and for ourselves, let us hope that we can see the forest through the trees that are still left.
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.— Franklin Roosevelt
p.s. In 1991, my fifth grade class bought a square acre of land in the Amazon rainforest. I wonder how that old patch of land is doing. It better still be there or I'll have to make a video of my own. God help us all because I surely can't sing like MJ.