Bob Parks opinion of Dr. Onkar Ghate's OP-Ed
By Letters To The Editor RussK (02/02/06)
After reading Bob Parks opinion of Dr. Onkar Ghate's OP-Ed, I understand that he must have misunderstood Dr. Ghate's statements. Dr. Ghate is not saying that it's worrisome that we are all too stupid to see the wisdom of the eco-terrorists and fail to defend them. Nor does Dr. Ghate say that Americans need to rise up for the eco-terrorists and, "if you don't get your way, blow sh*t up." Although, I'm sure this was just a misunderstanding, let me try and clear some things up about Dr. Ghate's Op-Ed:
When Dr. Ghate says: "Nevertheless, it remains worrisome that we still dismiss such terrorists as deranged individuals who pervert the ideology of environmentalism", he is not promoting the eco-terrorists or the environmentalists. Dr. Ghate is saying that it is worrisome that people separate eco-terrorists from environmentalism and dismiss the eco-terrorists as radicals who are removed from the 'environmentalist movement', and who have perverted the ideas of environmentalism. Dr. Ghate's point here is that Americans who do this are committing a grave error, and the eco-terrorists are indeed part of the movement and do not 'pervert' the ideas and values of environmentalism, but embody those ideas--that in order to combat eco-terrorists one must combat environmentalism and its ideas. Eco-terrorists is consistent with the values and ideas of environmentalism.
Likewise, when Dr. Ghate says: "Even more worrisome is that few of us intellectually grasp, and then rise to defend, the irreplaceable values under attack by environmental terrorists", he is not supporting eco-terrorism or environmentalism. He is saying that it is worrisome that most people do not understand, or defend the values under attack by environmentalists and eco-terrorists. He goes on to say that those values that are under attack by environmentalism are "human technology, human progress, human life".
I assure you that Dr. Ghate is not an environmentalist or a supporter of any of its ideas. For an Objectivists' context on environmentalism you should try this site (most op-eds are old): http://www.earth4man.com/ --"Save The Earth From the Environmentalists"-- I also urge you to visit http://www.aynrand.org for other articles on environmentalism, or the host! of the earth4man website: http://www.capmag.com (Capitalism Magazine).
RussK.
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