A HuffPo report on Rep Tim Walberg (R-MI) typifies the rank amateurism that seems to be gripping the GOP these days:
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) told a constituent last week that God can solve the problem of climate change if the global phenomenon truly exists. …
“I believe there’s climate change,” Walberg said, according to a video of the exchange obtained by HuffPost. “I believe there’s been climate change since the beginning of time. I believe there are cycles. Do I think man has some impact? Yeah, of course. Can man change the entire universe? No.”
“Why do I believe that?” he went on. “Well, as a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”
I want to focus on the immaturity of Rep. Walberg. This is not a traditional atheist screed, though, since I’m agnostic; no, I’m looking at this response as if God’s around – and asking myself, why should we expect God to clean up our messes? Because that’s what it is, if a highly subtle and advanced mess, a mess which tests both our technology and our grasp of ethics and morality: in a word, our mettle.
And Rep. Walberg, upon finding there’s a problem we’ve caused ourselves, throws himself on the mercies of God. (To be entirely fair, he’s a climate change skeptic.) Never mind his comment about the Universe, that’s easily just him mis-speaking. But the entire tenor of this remark is that of an irresponsible child, certain that his parents will clean up any messes he happens to make, and therefore not his to clean up.
Two problems. First, we hired Rep. Walberg to work on cleaning these problems up and take on the gargantuan task of preventing future such problems. That is the work of government. That he doesn’t seem to understand this marks him as an amateur.
Second, by behaving like a child, he sets a poor example for those in the party and the general citizenry. He encourages laziness and irresponsibility. And, by doing so in the sight of God, he encourages God to withdraw his favor.
As, if he exists, he has done so often throughout history. Rep. Walberg should be working up a sweat, being a good steward, and not being intellectually and morally lazy.
