I don’t post about the Gulf as much as I think about it. Because I think about it a lot. And I think about posting about it a lot.
Honestly, I just don’t know what to say.
Silence.
Somehow the words I partially piece together in my mind don’t measure up to my anger.
Silence.
Screw it. Here I am. With a maddening itch to write something. Because I really don’t think enough is being said.
It’s too damn quiet. And I wonder why this is.
Maybe we feel a little guilt?
Maybe – thanks to our dependency on oil and the power oil has over our politics – we somehow allowed a bunch of oil drills to set up off our coasts, never actually requiring that they have an effective disaster plan in place. And maybe that’s bugging us a bit?
It’s all good. We just need that oil. Gulf be damned.
Sure, I’m mad at the oil giants who make heaps of money off our shores. And I’m mad at the politicians who invited them there in the first place. And I’m mad that so little focus has been given to alternative energy resources.
But my anger is directed at the rest of us. I’m disgusted at how easily we shrug our shoulders and accept our oil dependency. I’m mad that we never questioned how those rigs are run. I’m furious that we never considered making our shores and the citizens who depend on these waters a priority.
This is our fault.
Silence.
Nothing. Its too quiet. We aren’t reacting to this.
Recent outrageous gas prices certainly weren’t enough to wake us up. I’m not sure the worst oil spill in American history will either.
And why is that?
Silence.
Because there isn’t enough outrage. Really. There just aren’t enough fancy pictures that can clearly illustrate all of the anticipated long term damage. There aren’t any celebrity phone banks and movie stars handing over millions and cell phone numbers to call and donate to any particular cause.
And there aren’t enough families obviously affected to really concern our country. Because too many other families are affected by their own lost homes, jobs and credit. Because everyone else is just trying to afford enough gas to get to whatever job they can come by, oil spill or not.
The country is numbed out and indifferent.
There’s not enough outrage because there isn’t any energy left for it.
Silence.
So the spill will be haphazardly, kind of, sort of cleaned up. Maybe. Enough so that the cameras will report back about various attempts to slop something up. And those living near the coast will get used to a new normal with oil just… everywhere. People will pick up the pieces a bit and move out of towns depending on the Gulf coast and regroup as best they can and this spill will just be part of our permanent reality.
And once the small bit of current clamoring does die down, BP will be back out there again, pumping the oil up to the surface while we are too busy trying to keep dinner on our tables to stop and reconsider other ways to power our cars and finally push oil companies off their gilded thrones.
I’m just not hopeful.
And when I’m not hopeful, I don’t really want to write.
So I’m going to stop now.
Silence
And keep focusing on how much I love the Gulf.
Stumble It!
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7 comments ↓
Caroline: I think about it daily. And honestly, it sickens me. It sickens me to hear people shrug and be so short-sighted, so uninventive, so cynical to state that it won’t change their habits. To say that no matter how much we put towards alternative sources of energy, it won’t make one bit of difference. To hell it wouldn’t. That is simply cynical laziness speaking.
The silence is deafening. And the thought bubbles above the heads of many are empty. People would rather the status quo than ask them to do ANYTHING different. And, unfortunately, we are being pacified by our leaders saying that it is all going to work out fine. We will clean it up and fix the problem. We don’t get there without everyone pitching in. Don’t pacify, call to action.
Maybe I need to hop on my soapbox on my own blog.
Corina´s last [type] ..Officially Jumping for Joy!
Too well put for my liking. You mirrored my thoughts exactly. We are so horrified and outraged, but say nothing…we are the cause of it. I keep re-writing this comment because I just don’t know what to say. Silence wins out again.
I agree wholeheartedly. And I think part of the frustration is the absence of a clear place to sink our anger and frustration because the problem is so sistemic rather than a fluke incident that can be blamed on one guy. And you’re right that the efforts that bp and the government seem to be making (at least as reported in the press) seem to be so piecemeal rather than addressing the sistemic issues.
Ps http://www.bloggersunite.org is holding an event on June 30 – you should join up & share your message
PJ Kaiser´s last [type] ..“A Feminist Manifesto for the 21st Century” (#Fridayflash)
I consider this a MUST READ. You’re amazing. Such a strong, important message, as always.
Maria´s last [type] ..A Mom is Born
Yes. We are all complicit in a mass delusion. We must be. The lack of meaningful outrage is inexplicable.
Deb Rox´s last [type] ..Wherein I Explain What Offsides Means to You
Hi there. Your post is beautifully written and clearly hearfelt. I’m sure many people can empathize with how you feel about this catastrophe – I know I can.
That feeling of sheer helplessness can be overwhelming at times. I really do feel for the people of the Gulf Coast, not to mention all those innocent species that will now be killed, detroyed, maimed or forever altered.
We must also spare a thought for other communities destroyed by callous and frankly despicable oil companies and their oil spills – like the oil-ravaged poverty-stricken people of the Niger delta in Nigeria. They have been almost completely forgotten by the world community.
Yet again we have yet another reminder as to why the use of oil as an energy source is unacceptable for how dirty and destructive it is, and how unsustainable it will be in the long run. Peak oil, anyone? The time for cleaner, more sustainable energy sources is so overdue.
The United States is the world’s largest economy and the biggest energy consumer (by far) of any country. I ask, therefore, that all Americans please apply far more pressure on your legislators and on your political and legal institutions to ensure that the US strives for greener, cleaner energy. You owe it to yourselves and you owe it to the planet, as do the rest of us.
The addiction to oil MUST stop.
Thanks so much again for a terrific post.
Greetings from South Africa ;-)
Vittorio
It is horrible. It breaks my heart every time I think about the LOSS since it started!
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