This is a fucking tragedy, folks.
And what makes it really intolerable is that we're not acknowledging it.
Obama flits around the edges of it, telling us how "frustrated" he is, how "enraged," how "heartbroken."
These are not the words we need to hear from a leader.
We are all frustrated, heartbroken and enraged.
But what are we doing?
Trying to go about business as usual.
This is not how one responds to a tragedy.
First we need to mourn.
We need to acknowledge the depth of this crime, in which we are all implicated.
Not just BP.
Yeah, BP fucked up.
But we all know the real reason this tragedy is occurring. It had to occur.
Offshore drilling is as inherently reckless as drunk driving. If the spill didn't happen this time, it would have happened next time. Drunk drivers don't kill people every time they get behind the wheel. But eventually they do, because driving a multi-ton vehicle under the influence of alcohol is an inherently reckless activity.
But even drunk drivers eventually have the decency to mourn, if they're lucky enough to survive their inevitable accident.
We've had our accident. The oil-covered animals are victim enough. We are standing by the side of the road, watching the oil ooze out of the wreck we just caused, thanking God we're still alive.
It is time to mourn.
It is time to change our ways.
But first it is time to mourn.
The president needs to declare a national day of mourning. We must try to drive as little as possible on that day. It should be a national Sabbath. A day of reflection. A day for people to think about what we have done, and what we can do to mend our ways.
A day to stop.
Stop driving around. Stop shopping. Stop working.
A day to just...stop. A still point from which to begin anew.
President Obama cannot keep this spill from soiling his presidency. He is the president. This tragedy is happening on his watch. THE OIL IS STILL LEAKING. There is no way to triangulate this tragedy, or minimize it, or blame someone else for it. There is no way to look away.
President Obama has all the skills he needs to lead us in this dire moment of crisis. In fact, his combination of oratorical ability and political know-how would seem to be tailor-made for a moment like this. But he seems afraid to use his skills. He seems afraid to acknowledge the magnitude of this disaster. I know he's got a lot on his plate. I know it's unfair to have this dumped on him when it was not his policies that led to it. There are a million reasons why he'd just want this thing to go away.
But it's not going to go away. It's going to get worse.
If ever we needed an orator, now is the time. If ever we needed a preacher, a prophet, a conscience, now is the time.
If we ever needed a president, now is that time.
We need wisdom, not politics.
Pick a day, President Obama. Pick the 4th of July, Independence Day, when we celebrate our freedom, and call on the nation to stop and have a moment of silence amid the fireworks.
A moment of silence amid the fireworks.
Isn't the destruction of an entire ocean worth at least that?
And if it's not, what are we worth as a nation?
What kind of people just go on with business as usual as an entire ocean dies?
Certainly not a people likely to be blessed by a just God.
We need a national day of mourning.
And then we need to get damned serious damned quick about getting off oil.
This spill can be the turning point and bring us into a new age of green energy. Because when a person, or a nation, really repents, there is nothing they cannot achieve.
President Obama, a lonely nation turns its eyes to you.