Oct. 7, 2006
In a call for environmental awareness and the halt of corporate and government cronyism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lambasted the current state of politics in Washington, D.C., in Laxson Auditorium Friday night.
After missing two plane flights in an effort to get to Chico, Kennedy delivered his speech in a scratchy and sometimes fading voice to an almost sold-out crowd of about 1200.
He discussed the content of his new book "Crimes Against Nature," which is about the corrosive impact corporations are having on democracy in America, he said. The book also charges the current White House administration as being the worst America has seen on environmental issues.
"No longer is there an obligation to the public interest but only an obligation to their shareholders," he said.
Some politicians have argued that America is at a point where it must choose between economic prosperity and good environmental policy, he said. But good environmental policy for companies usually means they will be more efficient with less waste being produced.
"You show me a polluter and I'll show you a subsidy, and I'll show you a fat-cat," he said.
Kennedy was also critical of the media for not focusing on the government's allowing for businesses to pollute. He said the media is more focused on Hollywood celebrity scandals like the Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson trials.
"We are living in a science fiction nightmare in America today," he said. "We are the best entertained and least informed people on the face of the earth."
Through his tours around the nation, Kennedy said that Republicans and Democrats have the same values, but that many Americans are misinformed from popular shows like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News to believe a certain ideology.
"Eighty percent of Republicans are Democrats who just don't know what's going on," he said.
But because he grew up in a family of powerful Democrats, Kennedy did not seem too afraid to take potshots at the Republicans who currently hold most of the power in Washington.
"Sometimes I look at this White House and I ask myself, 'How did they get all of these draft dodgers into one place?'" he said. "They wage wars but don't fight them."
Kennedy ended with questions from the audience, and one person asked if he considered running for office in 2008.
Kennedy said he had not ruled out the idea and that he is so concerned about what is going on in the United States that he may run for office in the future.
Benn Davenport, the Associated Students commissioner of environmental affairs, said Kennedy affirmed ideas about what the campus is trying to do with sustainability issues.
"I liked the idea that environmental protection is infrastructure protection because our economy relies on the environment," Davenport said. "I also appreciated the unifying message about values between all people regardless of political labels."
Kennedy spoke as a part of the On the Creek Lecture Series which focuses on sustainability and environmental issues on campus.
Mike Murphy can be reached at
mmurphy@theorion.com
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