I've been thinking about the blame game for the Gulf Disaster, and, when it comes down to it, I think we who drive are at least partly to blame, and really should consider our part in it. And it occurred to me to modify an older song I published back in 2003.
Below the fold is my take on it. The last verse is the new one, with the point in it.
Too Much for the Whistle
(To the tune of "Red River Valley")
Now, it was Ben Franklin who told it, a tale from when he was a boy.
Bright pennies lay there in his pocket, when he spotted a wonderful toy.
A shiny, new whistle – he bought it – but his brothers told him with a laugh,
"You paid far too much for your whistle; you could have had it for half."
Chorus:
Are we paying too much for our whistle?
It’s the question heard all ‘round the earth.
Are we paying too much for our whistle?
Is it costing us more than it’s worth?
When you see a car ad on your TV — "No interest, and no money down."
Do you rush right down there and buy one, and drive it all over town,
Where you’re joined by all of those others, in long lines going nowhere?
Then think of the words of Ben Franklin, as you gasp for a breath of clean air.
Repeat Chorus:
The president called him "a monster." the president said, "He’s a threat."
And, "We’ve got to invade them to save us," from the weapons we haven’t found yet.
Our forces used "shock and awe" tactics, we rolled over their army with ease,
And took quick control of the oil fields we need to feed our SUVs.
Repeat Chorus
Now, down in the Gulf, in deep water, not too far from old New Orleans,
A corporate-managed disaster fills the water with a dark oily sheen.
No matter whose fault gets determined, the damage will linger for years,
And our part in this devastation should bring us to mortified tears.
Repeat Chorus
Copyright ©2003, 2010 Bob Clayton, Ed Drone