Environmental 9/11

For weeks, I have been struggling to write down my thoughts about the Gulf oil spill tragedy. I am still struggling and I simply can’t understand my paralysis. After listening to President Obama’s address to the Nation from the Oval Office last night, I feel now is the time to finally write something. (I invoked the “10-minute rule” to help me.)

What is most frustrating is the lack of leadership from the top on-down-the-line. When, oh when will one of our leaders in either government or the private sector please, please, please step-up and talk about the drastic changes that must immediately take place if we are to avert this kind of tragedy in the future AND clean-up our ways? How long will we shake our heads at the news of the destruction yet continue to go on living destructively? Yes – destructively. We must begin to conduct our individual lives in a conscious way. We must, each of us, strive for respectful, modest living, while taking care of our planet and one another. There is too much apathy, too much laziness, too much greed. The tragedy in the Gulf is our environmental 9/11 but no one has the courage or the so-called “political will” to send the hammer down!

In the weeks and months following September 11, the Bush administration took many unprecedented, highly controversial and even painful measures in the effort to combat terrorism. Our collective national lifestyle was changed forever. The implementation of new security restrictions and the stripping away of precious civil liberties sparked protest and even outrage but also spawned a vital national debate. In the end, we adapted to the changes, some more painful than others. But we adapted. We really did change. We moved forward. And the debate continues today.

President Obama used war-like language when referring to “going after” BP. He said, “we're going to fight back with everything that we've got" and he outlined his “battle plan” for the clean-up, aid to the Gulf Coast residents, and a so-called prevention strategy. I believe it wasn’t tough enough. I want President Obama to use his bully pulpit to lay down the law, in true meaning of the phrase! If now isn’t the time, then when? Rustle-up America, Mr. Obama! Are you truly looking for an ass to kick? How about our collective apathetic American ass?! We need a leader. We need drastic change and we need it NOW. The president of the United States is the best hope we have for our nation, for the world, to make that 180 degree turn.