4
O
viedo
| C
ampoamor
T
heatre
| 26
th
O
ctober
2007
Years from now, the next generation will ask of us one of two questions. As they survey our actions,
and our inactions they will either ask: What were you thinking? Why were you deaf, dumb and
blind to the consequences of what was being done to the truth, of what was unfolding? Or they will
ask a question, that I prefer them to ask and I truly believe they will ask. I want them to look back
on 2007, at the beginning of this century, and ask about us: How did they find the moral courage
to rise and face the crisis so many said was impossible to solve? How did they find the ability to
raise their level of consciousness about the truth that was confronting our world? How did they
find the courage to act?
We have everything we need now to make certain that that second question is the one
that our children ask. And as they attempt to answer it, I want them to say that we realized we
had everything we needed, to save the ecological integrity of our planet, with the exception of
political will. But then we realized that, in democracies like Spain and the United States and
nations throughout this world that are free, political will is a renewable resource.
Al Gore
—
Prince of Asturias
Award for International
Cooperation
2007
Excerpt from the speech given on
the occasion of receiving the Prince
of Asturias Award for International
Cooperation on 26/10/2007.
