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Photo courtesy of Media Services

Lecturing - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lectures a crowd in the Fine Arts Center about the environment. He told the crowd that anyone who believed in human enlighten had to be disturbed by the corruption of science by corporate power today.

   Author and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lectured from his book, “Crimes Against Nature,” in the Fine Arts Center Auditorium March 29. The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation funded the lecture as a part of its Distinguished Lectures program.

   Kennedy said his book was a critique of President George W. Bush’s policy on the environment.

   “It’s not a partisan book, though,” he said. “I didn’t write it because he’s a Republican and I’m a Democrat. I wrote it because this is the worst environmental president in history. You can’t have a strong environment without a strong democracy.”

   Kennedy said we had a negligent press in America that had let down democracy.

   “You hear about a liberal media,” he said. “That is a big lie. There’s no way to match conservative powers such as Robert Novak and Bill O’Reilly. There’s a strong right-wing media in America and that’s where most Americans are getting their news.”

   Kennedy said the devolution of the American press began in 1988 when President Ronald Reagan abolished the Fairness Act.

   “Reagan abolished the Fairness Act as a favor to the religious right, who were already planning to take over talk radio,” he said. “If you want foreign news, you have to go to the BBC. Most Americans don’t know what’s going on overseas.”

   Kennedy said Americans do not understand foreign news and culture because the media does not do their job.

   “Americans today are the most entertained and least informed people on earth,” he said. “Eighty percent of Republicans are just Democrats that don’t know what’s going on. The public should be informed whether they want to be informed or not.”

   Kennedy cited Zogby for the following statistics:

·         70 percent of the people who voted for Bush thought Saddam Hussein bombed the World Trade Center.

·         85 percent of American soldiers believe we are in Iraq to punish Hussein for bombing the World Trade Center.

   Kennedy said he had three children with asthma, and that one in four blacks has asthma.

   “Because of Bush’s decision to abolish the new-source rule, 18,000 people a year are killed,” he said. “That should be the headline in every newspaper.”

   Kennedy said it was unsafe to eat the fresh water fish in Arkansas due to the mercury.

   “Wyoming is the only place it’s safe to eat all the fish,” he said. “A woman with my amount of mercury in her womb would have children with brain injury or neurological impairment.” 

   Kennedy said we were living in a science-fiction nightmare in this country when you cannot even go fishing with your family because someone gave money to a politician. 

   “The Appalachian Mountains are being cut down with draglines,” he said. “By the time this president leaves office, they will have flattened the Appalachians the size of Delaware. They’re not just destroying the environment, but they’re impoverishing the community.” 

   Kennedy said there was no stronger advocate for free-market capitalism than himself because free-market capitalism represents efficiency, and efficiency means the disposal of waste. 

   “Polluters make themselves rich by making everyone else poor,” he said. “With free-market capitalism, everyone gets rich and prospers. There’s a huge difference between free-market capitalism and crony capitalism, which this administration supports.” 

   Kennedy said corporations are not allowed to do good things because it’s against the law. 

   “If they do (good things), they can be sued by shareholders,” he said. “Philanthropy and true altruism is illegal. They must focus on shareholder value.” 

   Kennedy said we are not protecting the environment for the fish and birds, but for our own sake. 

   “Humans have appetites for other things besides money, and if we don’t feed those appetites, we’ll never grow up,” he said. 

   Kennedy said every single religious tradition’s epiphany occurred in the wilderness. 

   “Nature is how God stays in touch with the people,” he said. “Our nation’s values are rooted in nature. American democracy came out of the forest.”

   Kennedy said it was ironic that the current administration had convinced the public and the press that they had values. 

   “I look at this White House and wonder how they got so many draft dodgers in one place,” he said. “Without exception, these guys loved the Vietnam War; they just wanted someone else to fight it. These guys don’t understand why America is worth dying for.” 

   Kennedy reminisced about when he visited Europe with his father. He said many of the countries wanted the United States to be a leader, not a bully.

   “We were the most beloved nation in the world,” he said. “It took 250 years to build up that love, and it took six years to drain it. We are now the most hated nation in the world. A poll taken among European students showed Osama Bin Laden is more popular than George Bush.” 

   Dean of Arts and Humanities Mark Spencer said he thought Kennedy’s lecture was compelling.

   “From a personal perspective, he enforced the importance of what we do in higher education,” Spencer said. “Having an informed public is crucial to having a democracy.” 

   Following the lecture, guests could purchase Kennedy’s book, “Crimes Against Nature,” and get it signed by Kennedy in the Spencer Gallery of the Fine Arts Center. The bookstore sold out of books immediately after the lecture.  

   Kennedy graduated from Harvard University and studied at the London School of Economics. He received a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School and a master’s degree in environmental law from Pace University School of Law.

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