“Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come.” Relevation 18:10, King James Bible.
We are living the novel “Alas, Babylon”–the 1959 novel about the fictional Florida town Fort Repose that awaits the impending fallout of nuclear war.
Today, the Gulf Coast awaits for the BP Oil disaster to hit its shores.
This weekend I spent time on the water. Fort Morgan, families played amongst the yellow and orange boom…not knowing if we may lose the wonderfully blue waters and snow white sands of that little island at the Pensacola Pass. At times, I felt like I was at a hurricane party, celebrating a life we may never see again.
The stories of how the BP disaster has already impacted friends and families dominated conversations, as well as disappointment over how state and federal officials have handled this. People want to see BP CEO Tony Hayward in handcuffs, they want a “prep walk” with him, Haliburton and Transocean officials.
People are hungry for truth about the disaster. They ask me question after question about the explosion, the various tactics to stop the leaks (The “leak” seems woefully inadequate in describing the 25,000-40,000 bbls/day that is gushing into the Gulf) and what can we do about it.
Boycott movements are springing up everywhere. People are angry. Not this phony, racist Tea Party anger, really angry—“You have hurt my children” anger.
Politicians will try to blame the other political party. We will hear debates over whether the Bush or Obama administrations are more at fault than the other.
Folks, this isn’t a political issue. We don’t give a damn about politics. This is about our lives and damn the person who is caught playing politics with our lives. So put all this Conservative, Liberal, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian crap away. It’s us -together- against BP and anyone who collaborates with them to hurt our communities.
BP needs to stand for “Beyond Politics”
