An Open Letter to Marco Rubio
As most of you should be aware, Marco Rubio made comments the other day saying he doesn’t believe in man made climate change. He also strongly signaled he’ll be running for President in 2016. That election will be the first one in which I’ll be able to vote since I’ll be a citizen by then, so I decided to write the Senator a letter, mainly for the purpose of seeing what, if any, reply I get.
Dear Senator Rubio,
It was brought to my attention the other day that you are seriously considering running for President in 2016.
I know you come from a jurisdiction rich in immigrants. I myself am an immigrant, I’ve been in America since 2008. As it so happens, The 2016 Presidential election will bet the first one I vote in as an American Citizen.
I’m certain you would appreciate my support in that regard and I do have generally conservative leanings, but I am concerned over certain comments you recently made concerning climate change.
Now let me be clear, I have no desire to engage in a scientific debate with you. Neither you nor I are trained scientists so such a prospect would be pointless. I also have no desire to engage in a theological debate. Rather, I’m simply seeking clarification on your belief so I can make an informed decision on whether or not to support your Presidential ambitions.
Your comments stated that you don’t believe humans are causing climate change.
Let’s assume for the moment your assumption is correct, that humans are largely not responsible for climate change.
Do you not agree that we, as not only as responsible human beings but also responsible Christians, are called upon to be good stewards of the earth? I like to think the Lord gave us dominion over all creatures for a specific reason: He wanted us to look after them and treat them with respect, so that we might cultivate and develop them for continued use over many generations.
I’m wondering if you’ve ever thought much about God’s instructions to Noah prior to the great flood:
“You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you” - Genesis 6:19, NIV
If God is indeed all powerful He didn’t actually need Noah to accomplish this. He could have repopulated all the animals Himself after the Flood ended and merely sent only Noah and his family on the ark.
But not only did He instruct Noah to take the animals with him, He instructed him to keep them ALIVE. A major reason for this was to underscore the important role humans played in looking after the creatures of this earth.
We have never and can never abdicate that responsibility. The covenants we made with God thousands of years ago are still valid today. The duty we have to care for this earth is non-negotiable.
Think about it this way: You work for a large corporation in a middle management role. The big decisions are of course, made by the CEO and executive management. You’re likely to have little, if any, input into them for the most part. You must accept that, it’s part of what goes along with a command structure.
But even though you may have little influence in the decisions made at the top, you also have very important responsibilities and duties of your own that must be seen to in order for both you individually, and the company as a whole, to prosper and grow.
It’s the same with this planet. God will do things as He sees fit but even though you have limited control over His actions, you still have important roles as a small part of a large plan.
Now at this point you may be thinking: I get what you’re saying, but looking after livestock and corporate responsibility have little if anything to do with climate science.
That may be technically true, but where this all ties together is the fact that being a good steward/good shepherd over the earth does not ONLY mean taking good care of the animals that are here. It means taking care of the environment itself and the natural resources it contains.
Jesus commands us to love one another. Loving someone means, among other things, providing them an adequate environment to develop and realize the full limits of their potential.
We do ourselves and our children and grandchildren no good when we squander our valuable resources. Many of those resources are complex, delicate and extremely difficult if not outright impossible to replace when they are gone.
Regardless of where one comes down on climate change, I believe it’s both a morally and biblically sound argument that humans have a responsibility to respect and care for this planet and the creatures on it.
To abandon that harms not only our future, but our relationship with God.
I hope you hold similar beliefs, because I’m sure you’d love for my first ever Presidential vote to be for you.
Thank you in advance for your time and response.
Sincerely,
Eclectic Cyborg
(obviously my actual name will be on the real thing)