Liar, Liar, The Ocean's on Fire

Ever since the blow out occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on the 20th of April I have adopted a mantra that I repeat over and over again to anyone who will listen. It's quite simple: "They are lying". Easy to remember, obviously true, proven time and again, but people still deny it. "Why would BP lie about how much oil is gushing?" Yes, those of you reading this blog probably wonder how someone could ask such an ignorant question, but I get it all of the time.

Why?! Really…okay let's just assume for a second that a question as ignorant as that even deserves an answer. Here are a few: when penalties and fines are assessed after this disaster is no longer getting worse (assuming the flow is ever stopped) the amount of oil leaked is directly proportional to the amount of money BP will owe. This makes the use of dispersants come into clear view: they are using them to hide how bad it is. This should be obvious to most as well, but apparently it is not. BP is a corporation, their obligation is not to the American people, the Gulf of Mexico, the wildlife, or even to their employees (11 of which died when this disaster began). No. Their responsibility is to their share holders. They will do everything possible to make this the smallest FINANCIAL loss to themselves. If anyone still has any illusion that BP cares they should give it up now. They do care, but not for you and not for me, unless you own enough stocks to be on the board…and I have a feeling that if you do own that many stocks you aren't reading this blog.

It isn't just BP that is lying. The government? Oh yes, they are lying too, but so is the media in the indirect way they have of doing so. Mainstream media is ignoring the fact that Obama got more campaign contributions from BP than any other candidate. It is ignoring the fact the BP has spent millions on newly hired lobbyists that it sent out to DC to sway the opinions of politicians. They ignore all of this…and what does CNN have to say about the inaction of the government in this crisis? Obama, apparently, is afraid to take action because angry black men scare people. No joke here. The article can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/06/08/rage.obama/index.html

The smoke and mirrors do not fool me and you shouldn't be fooled either. This is a pretty simple case of not betraying the hand that feeds you. From a political standpoint it makes sense for Obama to not scold BP too heavily…they give him money. It makes sense for BP to cover their asses as a corporation in the current system. What doesn't make sense, and what everyone is afraid to say (or so it seems) is that the system that makes these atrocious acts acceptable is inherently flawed. Capitalism…the extraction of resources (be they human, plant, animal, or fossil fuels) for profit results in the destruction of habitats. It makes people look at living beings as resources, not as communities of life that are dependent upon each other for survival. Capitalism creates a dog-eat-dog system that makes it acceptable (and rewarded) to care not for your neighbor (be your neighbor human or otherwise). It is a system based on exploitation and it is broken. People see this brokenness now. They see the flaw of a system made to reward the elite and sentence the poor to a working class existence at best.

So let's rise up and fight. It's time to take the broken system down friends. It's time to demand that the land, the animals, the humans and all life forms are respected in their own rights. It's time for real change, and one that someone who gets money from an oil giant will not facilitate. Take a step back from your microscope and look at the entire system. That is what is broken. Capping the leak is important, obviously, but there will always be more leaks, more death, more corruption if the current way things are run is not changed.

And finally some articles about the leak you should check out:

Are Big Green Groups Protesting Too Little Amid Oil Disaster? http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/06/13-0

BP oil leak aftermath: Slow-motion tragedy unfolds for marine life http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/10/bp-oil-leak-marine-life-wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife blog: http://www.defendersblog.org/

BP Censoring Media, Destroying Evidence http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riki-ott/from-the-ground-bp-censor_b_608724.html

Gulf Needs Concrete Actions that Respect Residents' Rights http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry-kennedy/gulf-needs-concrete-actions_b_609827.html

Cheney's Push of Deregulators led to BP Disaster http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=5163

Oiled Birds Everywhere, but Little Rescue Crews can do http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Oiled_birds_everywhere_but_little_rescue_crews_can_do_999.html

Did Christ Have Bad Timing?

Driving home to Madison from my parent’s house in Lake Geneva, I found myself drifting into thoughts I don’t typically catch myself having. Perhaps it was the insane amount of coffee I had consumed, or the Christmas songs I had playing at full blast in my car. Whatever caused the meanderings of my thoughts—the consensus they seemed to come to was startling to me.

The fact that I started to think about Christianity while listening to holiday music is no jump of imagination, but where I went from there wasn’t exactly pleasant. I found myself tracing time from when Jesus came to earth over two thousand years ago, to the modern day. I looked at the wonderful things Jesus did, and the horrible things that have been done in his name. I thought of how he spoke of loving neighbors, no matter how different. I remembered the story of him saving the woman who would have been stoned to death. With all of these thoughts I began to wonder where Christianity went so wrong.

Jesus was a strong leader. He spoke of love, tolerance, and faith. He lived simply and shared everything he had with his friends and with strangers that didn’t necessarily share his beliefs. I wonder what he would have said to the forced faith that was shoved upon Native Americans with the choice of Christianity or death. Would he have said anything? I think he may have just shook his head, and wondered what had happened to the loving souls he had died for.

Maybe Jesus came too early. Perhaps if he had come in the early 1800’s to America, things would have been different. Yet, I think he still would have been killed for doing the horrible deed of spreading love and hope. Societies don’t ever take kindly to those who speak truth with love in their eyes.

Where and when would have been a good time for Jesus to appear? Does one exist?

Perhaps he came too late. Maybe if he’d been there when Mesopotamia was formed. If he’d appeared the very instant consumerism started to take hold. Maybe if he had told man that being nomads was the only way to peace—that greed would corrupt every soul the second they settled down into one place. Even then, would anyone have listened?

Maybe then, there was no better option than the time that he was born into. Messiah or not, he changed lives and history forever. Perhaps, even the son of God cannot change more than several generations of hearts.

Where does that leave us? If even someone as prophetic as Christ cannot change things for more than 100 years before they again become corrupt—do we stand a chance at all? In a society where we are shunned for saying Merry Christmas—a culture where people call themselves Christians while declaring war on those who are different—is there any hope of redemption?

I have shown you in every way by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.
-Acts 20:35