We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the need for immediate and determined action to address significant challenges, akin to mobilizing for war.
In this quote, Al Gore asserts that humanity must urgently unite and take decisive action in the face of pressing global challenges, much like nations have historically rallied together during times of war. He highlights that moments of crisis have often inspired leaders to articulate strong words that evoke courage, hope, and a willingness to make sacrifices in order to succeed against formidable adversities, suggesting that such resolve is necessary now more than ever.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about climate change to stress the need for collective action.
Global warming is real and human activity is the main cause. The consequences are mainly negative and headed toward catastrophic, unless we act. However, the good news is that we can meet this challenge. It is not too late, and we have everything we need to get started.
The climate crisis is not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.
I think it's harder for people than it should be. But as more and more of us become carbon neutral and change the patterns in our lives to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, we are now beginning to see the changes in policy that are needed.
We have a planetary emergency. We have to find a way to create, in the generation of those alive today, a sense of generational mission.
CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond what we have done in the past.
Well-established theories collapse under the weight of new facts and observations which cannot be explained, and then accumulate to the point where the once useful theory is clearly obsolete.
Even as the whole world tries to hang on to its job, there is also this weird parallel sense - almost a covert longing - that the old corrupt structures on which that job depends needs to be, ought to be, swept away.
Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in. They are going to ask what did you do about it, when you knew the glaciers were melting.
We cannot build the future by avenging the past.
In this new world economy, national boundaries are increasingly becoming obsolete.
We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we are afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.
The world as we know it is falling apart at the seams, because it's an inadequate container for the truth of who we are.
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