| Sitting
on the beach on the fourth of July in southern New Jersey
I could not stop thinking about the corporate oil criminal,
BP.
The
ocean is about a 90 minute drive from home.� It is a very
convenient and inexpensive day trip.� We avoid beaches where
a pass must be purchased because we oppose the idea that
the beach can be owned by anyone, including a municipality.
I
think about the fourth of July celebrations that now have
corporate names and wonder how long it will be before the
beaches and the beach tag business are sponsored or owned
by a corporation.� The great irony of the future may be
in taking a trip to BP beach and buying a beach tag with
the BP logo and some environmentally friendly slogan on
it.� This is not too far-fetched an idea.� After all, we
now attend sports and entertainment events in facilities
promoting the names large companies.
As
I look up at the Simpson-like clouds and observe folks enjoying
the surf and sand and marvel at the wind surfers, I imagine
what it would be like if the surf was loaded with toxic
oil and dispersement chemicals. We usually go to the beach
in the late afternoon in order to avoid the hottest part
of the day and the rest of the day tripper traffic. The
early evening provides an additional bit of entertainment
in the form of gulls and terns who show up to begin feeding
on clams.� They dig a clam out of the surf, fly with it
in their beaks about 20 or 30 feet up and drop it to break
the shell. Frequently a squabble breaks as a bird that did
not retrieve the clam tries to horn in on the meal.
The
BP oil spill crime colors everything in front of me on the
beach.� I have seen tar balls on California beaches and
know what a mess they are, aside from any health problem
connected to them. I also know that tar balls are minor
compared with the current mess. I shudder in horror, recalling
the images of death and destruction of human life, animal
life and plant life in the Gulf of Mexico. I find it very
easy to imagine the birds in front of me unknowingly eating
clams that have been poisoned by oil and dispersement chemicals.
I
can also easily imagine the number of people of all colors
and classes whose lives are being crippled by the crimes
of BP.
My
anger swells as the image of that house Negro in the BP
commercial appears in my mind's eye.� Do these advertising
agency geniuses really think this message fools anyone?
Is
the excuse by President Obama and his top political adviser,
David Axelrod, that they were slow to work on the oil industry
regulatory arm in the Interior Department because the economy
was in turmoil, really acceptable?� No, it is� not.� The
MMS mismanagement was only the tip of the iceberg and changing
the top manager was not a solution.� The solution is changing
the system and I don�t mean only the system that allegedly
regulates the oil industry.� I mean our entire system of
government over which the corporations are in charge through
their purchase of politicians and control of the corporate
media through their advertising.
The
meaning of �life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness�
should not be dictated by corporations and their advertising
agencies.� Too many people who might have had enough energy
to fight for social justice, economic justice and peace
have been turned into passive members of a bourgeoise consumer
democracy. The corporate government is primarily concerned
about citizens because they are consumers who have lost
some of their zest for shopping and aren�t buy stuff at
a satisfactory level.
BP
is a corporate criminal. The United States should declare
war against BP and take over the company.� BP and other
multinational corporations are a much bigger threat than
the Taliban. Our military forces should be removed from
Iraq and Afghanistan, returned to the USA and used to clean
up the BP mess and work on other infrastructure projects.�
Additionally, we should terminate all contracts with any
corporation providing mercenary forces in our military efforts.
If
we are going to fight a war, a real draft must return.�
Some of the wealthy will always figure a way out of the
draft, but a real draft that relies on more than just the
poorest people will make it really easy for the average
American to figure out if a military conflict is worth it.
Why
not have a universal draft that would require all 18 year
olds to put in two years of public service?� Give them a
choice of serving in a civilian service organization or
the military.� Also give them a choice of service after
having completed their after high school education.� The
pay for this service would include a fund for later education
in a trade school or college or money to pay off interest-free
government loans used to pay the education already completed.
How
frustrated are you that there seems to be no way for us
to put an end to the corporate criminals in our midst?�
We have no leftist third party with any impact. Countless
numbers who did fight for civil rights and peace in the
past have been lulled into a stupor by the election of the
first Black president.
We
also have no organized method for having any way to control
what the Democratic Party does.� I long for the days of
the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.� But back then,
the presidential conventions of the Democrats actually had
fights over who was seated and what issues were worth fighting
for and included in a platform.
We
on the left are not the only people who are angry and upset.�
We also have a growing number of people on the right who
feel squeezed by the same hideous economic controls.� The
right wingers also get their anger tied in with their fear
of losing political control to people of color because the
President is Black.
The
pigs of the power structure (POPs) think they know what
they are doing.� They love to keep the �little people� in
a chaotic state.� The more chaos we feel the less likely
we are go get organized and beat them up.� If the POPs are
smart bullies they will pay attention to history and know
the LP�s (little people) will become a real problem for
them when they get pushed too far.
However,
the POPs are more greedy than smart.� They can never get
enough.� They are all like the BP managers who felt saving
a couple of days of work was worth the risk of causing a
disaster.� They are no different than the upper class and
religious establishment of the thirteenth century or the
manufacturers of the industrial revolution.
They
will keep pushing for more and more.� We need a new movement.
We must get organized, but I am in a quandary about which
way to go or with whom.�
Another
uprising is coming. I know for certain that without organization
and solidarity, the revolutionary change in the system that
is inevitable will not be pretty and it won�t be televised.
I
do still believe in the importance of contacting our
elected representatives between elections. Taking part in
a demonstration is best but it must also be done in addition
to signing petitions, making a personal phone call, or sending
a personal call, letter or email.
Here
are links and phone number for you to use reach members
of congress and the White House.
For
the U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ (enter
your zip code in the upper left corner of the page)
For
the U.S. Senate: http://senate.gov/ (choose your state
using the drop down menu in the upper right corner)
White
House Comment Line - 202.456.1111
White
House Switchboard - 202.456.1414
White
House Website contact form: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
(Post
Script:� The last time I wrote I was being called to jury
duty.� I planned to serve and hoped to have an opportunity
to either prevent someone from going to jail for a petty
crime through jury nullification or hanging the jury. I
did show up, but the case we were going to hear was settled
the evening before.� It was a disappointment.)
BlackCommentator.com Publisher and Chief Technical Officer
Peter Gamble, is the recipient of a national Sigma Delta
Chi award for public service in journalism and numerous
other honors for excellence in reporting and investigative
reporting. The �beats� he covered as a broadcast journalist
ranged from activism in the streets to the State Department
and White House. The lure of a personal computer on his
desk inspired a career change in 1985 and an immersion into
what he saw as the future of communications. The acquisition
of computer programming skills made it possible for Peter
to achieve an important level of self-reliance in the technology
of the 21st century and to develop BlackCommentator.com.
Click here to
contact Peter. |
Jul 8, 2010 - Issue 383
is
published every Thursday
