A fellow blogger linked to my post about "Earth Hour", and asked a fair question: 

What is it about conservation, done voluntarily, that gets some conservatives […] so upset?

Let’s get something cleared up right now.  I take no issue whatsoever with people voluntarily doing anything that doesn’t harm anyone else.  That’s part of being a free citizen living in a free country.  I don’t have to agree with or even like what people do, but if it isn’t harming anyone else, I stand by their right to do whatever their hearts desire.

With that said, I have the right to reject and state my opinion on what I believe to be the craziest fad religion this world has ever seen.  Sometimes stating that opinion involves performing rebellious acts that symbolize my disgust with the brainwashing of the human inhabitants of planet earth.  I’ve never been one to follow fads.  I think it shows weak character when people do, especially in today’s culture of "branding".  Turning all of my lights on last night was a personal reminder of my freedom, my individuality, and my ability to think for myself. 

That’s not to say that some people out there are true conservationists, and truly believe that they can have an impact on the weather systems of our planet and on the conservation of natural resources.  I happen to think they’re out of their minds, but there are people out there who truly believe that they, personally, can impact these things with voluntary efforts.

The fact is, it won’t stop with voluntary efforts, as we’ve already seen with the ridiculous CFL  light bulb legislation.  It’s not enough for them to attempt to convert the world to ‘green’ voluntarily.  As this fad expands and becomes more and more ‘cool’ and ‘mainstream’ (it’s hard to see how it could become ‘more mainstream’ than it is already), people become more accepting of governmental regulations on how the rest of us live our lives, which subsequently affects our pocketbooks and our overall quality of life. 

If the Green Cult would stop at voluntary efforts, I’d be all for it.  If people want to live in the dark and drive hybrid tin cans, that’s their prerogative.  But don’t support or encourage legislation that forces me and my family to live under Al Gore’s ‘Seven Commandments‘, and don’t force me to buy your squiggly light bulbs that take fifteen minutes to light up, are filled with mercury, and cost ten times more than traditional bulbs. 

As a Christian, I don’t call for legislation that encourages every young person to be fitted with a chastity belt so as to stop illegitimacy; one of the most expensive and socially destructive issues in America.  I don’t think it’s right to force my moral beliefs on the rest of America, and I don’t appreciate others forcing theirs onto me.

The other issue I take is companies like Google, NBC, and other huge energy hogs telling me to be ‘green’ when they use more energy in ten minutes than I will in my entire lifetime.  It’s like a preacher telling his congregation to remain faithful in their marriages and to stay chaste in their single lives when he has prostitutes waiting for him in his office after the church service is over.  They’re getting the best of both worlds while the rest of us are told to tow the line. 

But I must be honest when I say that I’m just plain and simple fed up with ‘Green’.  I’m sick of turning on the TV and seeing the commercials, I’m sick of HGTV’s ‘Green House’, I’m sick of going into stores and seeing the green crap everywhere, I’m sick of going into Target and seeing the ‘green’ T-Shirts, handbags and baby toys.  I cannot get away from this absolute insanity, as hard as I may try.  I’m being proselytized at from every direction, and it makes me want to scream.  So yes, there is an emotional side to my bitterness towards ‘green’.

I’m a firm believer that the truth doesn’t need to be marketed.  If it’s true, it will be embraced without inundating the public.  If a message is being thrown at you from every direction, chances are that you should be very skeptical of that message.

To sum it all up, if you want to live ‘green’, by all means, do so.  Just don’t support legislation that forces me –and others–to follow your green religion.  If you support my freedom of choice, I will happily support yours.