Student Post: Earth Hour v. Human Achievement Hour

This past weekend, many people around the world celebrated Earth Hour. On Saturday, from 8:30 to 9:30 P.M. local time, participating individuals turned off all non-essential lights. The purpose was to make a statement about climate change and the need for energy responsibility.

But they were not the only individuals using this time slot to promote their agenda. During the same time slot, the Competitive Enterprise Institute was at work as well. The CEI wished to promote an agenda of the “. . . necessity to protect the individual persons from government coercion . . . .” To accomplish this, the group introduced the Human Achievement Hour. During the Human Achievement Hour, which happened to coincide with Earth Hour, participants “. . . gather[ed] with friends in a heated home, watch[ed] television and surf[ed] the Internet instead of dimming or shutting off the lights altogether. . . .”

It doesn’t take a climate change enthusiast to see the problem with this. America has turned into a country where people use their beliefs as a way to attack the beliefs of others....and really nothing more. On its face, I have not an ounce of problem with Human Achievement Hour. However, the fact it was clearly created to combat Earth Hour, as opposed to being a legitimate statement, completely ruins it for me. So you don’t like Earth Hour.....don’t participate! I won’t hold it against you. But I will hold against you the fact you intentionally scheduled your event during Earth Hour for no clear reason besides pushing somebody’s buttons. Let them have their hour, and you pick your own.

As a fan of free speech, I really could care less when the CEI schedules their events. But what the situation here is lacking is respect. Respect for the beliefs of others, and respect for the idea of letting them have their day to promote those beliefs. I think people today have lost sight of the fact respecting competitive thought doesn’t hurt one’s position. In fact, I would argue showing that respect to your opponent makes your position stronger.

But who can blame people today for the tactics they use to promote their positions. Look at American politics. Politicians today focus on poking holes and smearing their opponent’s campaign, rather than promoting the strong points of their own. This has resulted in Americans, time and time again, having to choose between the lesser of two evils. With this as an example of how we should promote our beliefs, it is no wonder why CEI chose the day and time it did for its Human Achievement Hour.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/30/let-there-be-light-human-achievement-hour-to-coincide-with-earth-hour/?cmpid=cmty_{linkBack}_Let_there_be_light%3A_%27Human_Achievement_Hour%27_to_coincide_with_Earth_Hour