Are you above the influence?

Influence is all around us. It lives, breathes, and speaks. Influence comes in many shapes and sizes, whether through movies, music, or books. When something influences us, it changes the way we think. It changes the way we look at the world. I have a favorite book titled “State of Fear”, written by Michael Crichton in December of 2004. This book has influenced me and my way of thinking. It questions a major group in our society’s validity. After reading it, I do not think I will ever view them the same way again.

The first time I heard of “State of Fear,” I was a sophomore in High School. I was already a big fan of Michael Crichton’s work, and was highly anticipating his new book. I would go to the school library every day after its initial release to see if it was available. Eventually, I got my hands on a copy from the school library and read the book; a feat that only took five days to finish. My initial reaction was total awe. I found myself questioning everything I have been told about global warming. The book had completely influenced my views on our world.

Like his other famous work, “State of Fear,” is a very controversial book that speaks out about global warming. It tells a story about Evan, a man that works for an environmental law firm. He helps manage funds for a big environmental group called NERF. Evan gets suspicious of the group’s motives when he finds out they have been secretly spending money in unknown ways. He and a group of people set off to find out what is going on behind the scenes of the organization. They soon find that NERF has been funding an eco-terrorist group that stages “natural” disasters to put the public in a state of fear. The terrorist group uses the fear to influence the public to put more money into funding environmentalist groups. Evan travels the world to put a stop to this terrorist group, while being presented with evidence that global warming could possibly be non-existent. His group stops the terrorists from exploding large chunks of glacier into the Antarctic Seas, from shooting filament into the sky to create the world’s biggest lightning storm, and from shifting the ocean floor to create a tsunami meant to hit California. In the end, the terrorist group is completely shattered from the foiled tsunami plan. Evan quits his job and works for an environmental activism business that was free of corruption and lies.

The one thing about Michael Crichton’s work that makes it so believable is his bibliographies. His bibliographies contain about 22 pages of sources for his information. This book has been used in the Senate as proof that global warming is a hoax. Michael Crichton was quoted in a legislation hearing saying that environmentalists “did a fabulous job in the first 10 years, a pretty good job in the second 10 years and a lousy job in the last 10 years.”

My favorite book, “State of Fear,” has influenced me in many ways. It proves just how powerful the media can be at changing the way we think. The book provides compelling evidence at the flaws behind global warming. Michael Crichton is famous for his fictional work, but this story has a lot of truth behind it.