so as i sit here today, there's a giant pile of oil threatening the state i'm about to leave. my god, it's going to be the most brutal ecological disaster we've seen in a generation, if not worse. the beaches i've spent my life on are about to get besmirched beyond recognition. the wetlands that defend this state from hurricanes are about to get wiped out for perhaps a generation. the people who run the national oceanic and atmospheric administration are SCARED. there goes tourism, fishing, the two or three things these folks have left.
i don't know how to articulate my rage. we've been irresponsible for a long time about energy. ah, the insouciance of the american public when it comes to something that's not an immediate crisis. "eh, no big deal. we've got time to figure this out. hey, check out my new yukon denali SUV - it holds thirty-seven people AND their hockey gear!" well, guess what. time's up. miners are dying. oil slicks are about to destroy a large portion of the south. WAKE. UP. sweet lord, something has to be done. and you know what, people out there in the teabagger toddler-ocracy that is the american electorate? IT'S GOING TO SUCK.
things will not be freewheeling and fun the way that the supply-siders told you it would thirty years ago. what we need to do as a country (and by god, this goes for ALL areas of policy, not just this) is to figure out a long-term plan to a) figure out what's wrong, b) prioritize the problems, and c) go about SOLVING THEM. politics is not supposed to be glib, sound-bite friendly, or entertaining. it's supposed to be hard. it's supposed to be smart. it's supposed to take time. if we don't stop electing idiots to office, and i call 'em like i see 'em, we're never gonna get there. you'll end up with stupid, short-sided laws like the arizona "stop all the brown people" rule, that don't SOLVE ANYTHING.
maybe it's me. i am an educated, thoughtful person. (only child much?) but i have one expectation: THINK. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THINK. what's about to happen to my gulf coast is only the tip of the iceberg if we don't start thinking.
Hello world!
8 months ago
I'm so glad you wrote this. It articulates my feelings exactly and I frequently find myself at a loss for words when dealing with my new surroundings and the people that inhabit them.
ReplyDeleteI'm also really happy you included a line about you being educated. Down here it seems like my education is held against me; somehow I'm an "elitist snob" for working my ass off to get into an ivy league school and even harder while I was there. All of my actions can be tied to this: she recycles=elitist snob, husband commutes by bike=elitist snob, they don't go to church=heathen elitist snob.
Sorry for taking over you comment section. I just really loved this post.
no worries - thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteyeah, the whole education thing has been a touchy subject for me my whole life in the south. i can't tell you how many times i've heard/been told, "don't get smart." (thankfully, not by my parents - they did right by me in that department.) that goes along with the ever-popular "don't get above your raising." jeez, i kinda thought parents were supposed to want better for their kids than they had. silly me.
and the elitist snob thing? i get that too. i own it, embrace it, and love it now. there's just as much elitist snobbery in denouncing brains and achievement than there ever could be in having brains and achieving. my lord, sarah palin is a walking, talking ball of snotty condescension, and people here LOVE her. i just smile, smile, smile.
when i lived in the mid-atlantic the first time around, i used to kinda miss my childhood experiences in the south. now i realize that a) my childhood hometown was and is VERY atypical for the bible belt, and b) i am just not cut out for the south as it is today. i need cities, urban life, and frankly, i am tired of being a little blue dot in a big red sea. i want to be back among my own kind.
Just butting in here to say I'm with you all the way. I'm mourning for the loss of life (ecologically, economically, and actually) that will take place as a result of this epic fail on behalf of the oil companies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as somoeone who grew up in the south with an educated, liberal upbringing and having gotten to know the midwest, where I currently reside--I can say that stigmas still very much exist. It's just that common company is easier to find.
Don't worry though! There are just as many Palin lovers here, just as many folks who think being heavily educated, not religious, and eco-friendly means that you're some kind of birkenstock wearing, recycling, communist tree-hugging freak.
yeah, this stuff knows no geographical limits, sadly. stupid is everywhere. it's just easier to dodge in big cities, i think.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the part of all this oil crap that pisses me off most is people wasting time trying to blame it on anyone but themselves...
ReplyDeleteyeah, the circular blame game drives me NUTS. meanwhile, there are freaking "tar balls" washing up on the beach i used to go to with my first boyfriend. sigh.
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