I'm slowly losing it. To those who live on the Gulf Coast, I apologize for not losing it earlier. I was slow to the party; I heard the news on twitter, kept up with what NPR (via KSMU) was reporting, and listened to my parents' stories about what they were hearing on the news. Now, I'm finally doing a bit more active listening and it's absolutely driving me nuts.
The estimated oil spill is exponentially larger than expected.
The companies involved blaim each other, on a hilarious, kindergarten finger-pointing scale.
Version 1 - Version 2 - Version 3
Major corporations that make BILLIONS of dollars a year, run by people corrupted by this amount of money, act with their "shareholders" in mind. Who else could they really care about but themselves?
Legislators pass bills that siphon money to their districts and states, while disregarding any conscionable advice from experts - claiming that they act with their "constituents" in mind. Who is going to take a stand on a tough issue, tell someone "No" and provide good reasoning for it?
Meanwhile I'm working my tail off, and the seafood that I love to eat won't be available when I head home to New Orleans and the money I need to do a decent job as a teacher isn't avaible. Am I a "stakeholder" or a "constituent" anywhere, to anyone?
I'm scared for myself, for my job, for the kids I teach, for the country I live in. Honestly. This is not good, and it is one manifestation of a problem that is present on many levels across the entire nation. Cheating isn't a bad thing anymore because those in control can change the rules to fit their desires, but that's not how the world works. Sports practices scare me, as a middle school coach. New immigration laws in Arizona scare me, as a Holocaust Studies educator.
Anybody got some good news out there? I'd like to hear it.
