It was just an ordinary day; a beautiful Sunday afternoon, warm and sunny. I was too lazy to finish my homework but not tired enough to just take a nap. So I grabbed a bag of tortilla chips, crashed on my bed, tuned in to yet another "America's Next Top Model" marathon, courtesy of MTV, and let myself sink into a blissful stupor.
My television screen filled with images of an alternate reality of makeup and haute couture, and the superficiality of it all let me forget my own world of term papers and final exams. But then it happened.
Reverend Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson. Together. On a couch. On a beach. Not killing each other. It blew my mind.
I literally thought the commercial was computer generated. Was it true? I checked the internet, and indeed it was no fabrication - the Left and the Right had actually joined together on an issue and survived.
The issue was the environment and the commercial was for the We Campaign, a project of the Alliance for Climate Protection founded by Al Gore. According to the website, the We Campaign seeks to educate others about global warming and then mobilize people to behave in more environmentally friendly ways, such as using energy efficient appliances, consuming renewable energy or taking public transportation. The campaign also calls for "innovative leaders" to essentially grow a pair and start to fix the environmental problems.
But the website held more treasures and bipartisan gems. A second video, this time with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich sitting in front of the Capitol Building. I was beginning to wonder, could a political issue rally support from both sides of the aisle?
It seems that helping the environment and trying to decrease global warming has become less and less of a partisan battle and more of a universal initiative. And why shouldn't it be? We all live on this earth, and the state of the world in which we live should be one of our most critical concerns.
The commercials, while a little corny, are somewhat effective. They're intriguing enough to catch your attention and they send a subtle message for the hard-core politicos. To those on the Left: Yeah, it's okay to work with the conservatives - they're not crazy all the time. To those on the Right: It's okay to help out the environment - it's not just for hippy, pot-smoking liberals.
And these messages, though subtle, are absolutely right. Who cares? Saving the environment is not just for liberals or conservatives.
CAS sophomore Maggie Craig, the co-chair of NYU's Earth Week and co-president of Earth Matters, said, "One person changing a light bulb is not going to make a difference." Neither is one political party, or one political ideology. It's going to take everyone.
And for those who are unwilling to cross party lines and compromise, why not? Baby steps are better than no steps at all. You can't expect the world to give up its cars and stop using electricity in a day.
In the wake of NYU's Earth Week, maybe its time to reach across the ideological spectrum, bury the hatchet and plant the seeds of change.
I mean, if this whole compromise thing works out, just think about what could get done: wide scale education reform, a fair immigration policy, a workable timetable for withdrawal in Iraq, health care and social security changes, and just about everything else. Any system is better than a broken one. I'd rather compromise and see a little change than be so stubborn and let ineffective stagnation ensue.
Personally, I like the bipartisan commercials. With any luck, we may soon see more.
Megan Stewart is an opinion columnist. E-mail her at opinion@nyunews.com.
