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BP and the wages of selfishness....(continued from Page 1)

We know that selfish interests get in the way of our common humanity, but then, greed and fear takes over.

Even as fishermen complain about the death of waters in the Gulf, politicians and the public quickly decries the six-month moratorium on more deep-water drilling. American economic insecurity and the lack of a social safety net leaves us desperately worried that we won't be able to pay our mortgages (to the bankers), buy food (from private corporations) or see a doctor when we are sick (where's public healthcare?). So, we choose instead to risk destroying the world further instead of seeking ways to make sure our neighbor is housed, fed, and healed.

In the case of British Petroleum and the Deepwater Horizon explosion, we see how a drive for quick profits leads to millions of gallons of poisonous goo covering our waters and land. Overseas, young Texas boys and girls are dying to ensure that oil and gas pipelines can be built and secured across the lands of Iraqi and Afghan farmers - fully supported by even "liberal" members of Congress. The political establishment along with taxpayer-funded military act as chief enforcer of this privatized venture. The profits will end up in the pockets of politicians and investors in Kabul, Baghdad, New York, London Berlin, Amsterdam, Canberra and Washington, DC.

Tough luck for the generations of Grand Isle shrimpers, Gulfport bait shop owners and Laguna Beach leasing agents.

Those who proselytize for profit could care less, so long as their vacation homes in Hawaii, Martha's Vineyard , Palm Beach and the Bahamas aren't affected. You see their self-satisfied faces on the Sunday morning t.v. commentary, hear their siren voices on the radio and read their words spilled across the paper each day. They seductively promise, "you can rise above your fellow man". "You too can become like a King."

Shut 'em off. There is another way: One that requires courage, instead of fear; compassion in place of selfishness. Instead of letting ourselves being pitted against one another in a zero-sum game of economic selfishness, we can rise to the banner that "there is enough for all". There is plenty of food to ensure that no one goes hungry. No one need go without a roof over their head. Our healthcare system has the capacity to serve everyone. Even our power needs can be supplied through existing available resource, conservation and investments in green energy. We don't have to accept nuclear waste dumps in West Texas, nor oil spills in the Gulf.

What right do we have to sell, slice and dice our shared planet for the profits of a handful of individuals? Why do we let private energy investors obtain leases to shared public lands? Why are we so willing to pimp ourselves and the world humanity? Does "God" have a contract with Texaco?

Similar inquiries are raised whenever there is a disaster or challenge of global significance: Chernobyl, global warming, SE Asia Tsunami, etc. Even the most hardened capitalists are beginning to ask more questions as they witness the devastation of wetlands and public beaches taking place on a global scale. From G20 presenters in Toronto to US Social Forum activists in Detroit, the plans for the future are being discussed and planned.

Will it be a future where we continue to kill one another - with words and deeds - or can we rise above this dystopia? Will our children inherit our folly or enjoy peace, prosperity and ecology? Another world is possible. Another US is necessary.

What we dream and envision, we can achieve. The choice is ours.

In the words of Henry David Thoreau, "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."

The only thing standing in the way of creating a better world is our own lack of imagination and willingness to work together for our community good. Meanwhile, coral reefs die underwater and heron chicks die in blackened estuaries. Not by an "act of God", but at the hand of men - exceeding selfish ones. Us.

Peace and Justice,

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace

LAST WEEK: Somos todos "Texans"