"An Inconvenient Truth" - it's part of the curriculum

While attending a family gathering this weekend in the Beaujolais my aunt proceeded to tell me about how my cousin Alice took her high school class to go see Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. My aunt, who is hardly a lefty and much more of a traditional center-right type from a pro-business family in France, was telling me what a great idea it was and how the students appreciated the event. She couldn't say enough good things about Al Gore and the movie and insisted that everyone should go to see the movie and think about what can be done about global warming. Wow, what a pleasant surprise to hear since the region is solidly mainstream, if not tilting to the right.

I know the rumblings are always there but every time I meet someone over here that has watched the movie, they immediately ask "will Al Gore run for President?" It is impressive to see the interest in the topic and how it comes up with everyone, across all backgrounds over here. What also stands out is that even after the scorched earth foreign policy of the Bush administration, there is still a strong desire for so many people who want to see the US regain its former self and be active within the world community and not a crazy on the international fringe. Those on the right who say everyone hates the US and wants a weak US are simply wrong. People want a return to cooperation, open dialogue and a sense of a global community because an issue such as global warming forces us all to work together, across borders and around the world. Sounds reasonable to me.