For those of us who feel prayers are not enough, then a demonstration, no matter how seemingly small or less significant (like calling the White House to let them know how you feel) is how you act in crisis. You take an action. You think, 'what can I do'? 'how can I help'? You are compelled to make that effort. For us, the ongoing crisis in our nation's largest ecological disaster - revolving unchecked still at the moment, we have to try to do something. A 'fierce urgency of Now'. The wash up of sea life including porpoises, sea turtles, all variety of fishes, the sea foul and the birds that make home on the shores... a whole eco-system is being murdered by crude oil and many of us just can't sit here and type out on it... we do crave to make a contribution for the need of it. "...the ocean is sacred..." The only action I've been capable of, in outrage and disappointment, has been to call the White House switchboard and tell the President how I feel about it. Because until yesterday, it has nationally felt like he didn't have a handle on this crisis at all. BP has been running the show. Not until the citizens began calling, while journalists like Maddow, Goodman, AC Cooper, Olbermann, etc. revealed the public emotion of this lack of response and action from the White House ... not until a crescendo of ill will over this captured someone in the White House, did the President take hold the situation in front of the nation yesterday. To give you some idea of how much damage we face:
The political ramifications of this incident become more clear and exposed; if you ride the fence, you're bound to knocked off it. Middle road political compromises might ensure a brilliant man only one term in office. It's very hard to resolve the President I have to the Presidential values and ethics so clear in the man who wrote "The Audacity of Hope" ... singularly the one thing through this current crisis he has not provided the nation... no Hope, no leadership... until yesterday. Yesterday he stepped into a more public and expressive leadership role in this crisis. Yet for the first time ever, I heard a bit of Presidential spin baby spin. Politics Plus posted a good response to this. Like Tom, I think Olbermann summed up the situation well:
For anyone who may think that the President has 'done what he can' and it remains the techies' or oil companies responsibility to resolve this, yesterday the man himself took complete responsibility for it all. I am proud of his demonstration on that. Letting science lead the way in all of this, having the best science oversee the operations... NOAA and the EPA's scientists' and research vessels...not even their best and brightest have been tasked to get into the Gulf ... and I don't take the word of White House reports or even what the President has said about 'day one'... the "Brown" (largest, best of NOAA research vessels') has only this week been dispatched into the Gulf of Mx. Reporting before Congress, the White House 'experts' on this crisis have come up short on even describing what is being done; the contingencies on many levels of clean up that must be put into place LIKE FUCKING NOW! Yet; after yesterday, perhaps now more definable, positive action will be forthcoming from the government facilities. While all the official departments of our government that has been 'sent in' ... they have been woefully slow and seemingly unclear or un-knowledgeable concerning this crisis. It is nationally overwhelming. I can't imagine the levels of stress and overwhelm in the Oval Office. My gosh.
I hold this President up to higher standard than any other President I've ever voted for. I won't back away from that, because I feel that we are in the midst of changing times where the actions anyone of us takes' makes a difference to the whole of us and leadership through this time of paradigm shifts due to climate change / global warming / pollution crisis, global economic meltdown, corporate consumption of the planet's resources and destruction of nature, the unfairness of own judgments against each other and ourselves... during this fear ridden journey, we require an integrity in our leadership and own personal demonstrations. Personal opinion. We have become a global community... anyone who uses the internet must be aware of that? This disaster is a global concern and soon the international implications are going to be rolling back at the United States. Bet on it.
You can do something to help by calling the White House and telling them how you feel. It always counts. You make a difference. 202-456-1414
If you live on the East Coast of the United States or along the West Coast of FL or in the Gulf of MX basin... you can volunteer right now to help with the clean up on the shores / inland bleeds. If you live in the Gulf basin this link will help you to find an effort in clean up: The Daily Loaf blog.
You will be put through a short training in hazmat clean up. If you work on this you will get sick. You should know that. And you will only be able to do it for a couple of hours at a time or suffer ill health. That's in the worst affected coastal and sea areas. Which are blooming larger. The need will become great, I'm thinking. Here is the GreenPeace link.
Do what you can.
Pray towards heaven; but row towards shore.
The political ramifications of this incident become more clear and exposed; if you ride the fence, you're bound to knocked off it. Middle road political compromises might ensure a brilliant man only one term in office. It's very hard to resolve the President I have to the Presidential values and ethics so clear in the man who wrote "The Audacity of Hope" ... singularly the one thing through this current crisis he has not provided the nation... no Hope, no leadership... until yesterday. Yesterday he stepped into a more public and expressive leadership role in this crisis. Yet for the first time ever, I heard a bit of Presidential spin baby spin. Politics Plus posted a good response to this. Like Tom, I think Olbermann summed up the situation well:
For anyone who may think that the President has 'done what he can' and it remains the techies' or oil companies responsibility to resolve this, yesterday the man himself took complete responsibility for it all. I am proud of his demonstration on that. Letting science lead the way in all of this, having the best science oversee the operations... NOAA and the EPA's scientists' and research vessels...not even their best and brightest have been tasked to get into the Gulf ... and I don't take the word of White House reports or even what the President has said about 'day one'... the "Brown" (largest, best of NOAA research vessels') has only this week been dispatched into the Gulf of Mx. Reporting before Congress, the White House 'experts' on this crisis have come up short on even describing what is being done; the contingencies on many levels of clean up that must be put into place LIKE FUCKING NOW! Yet; after yesterday, perhaps now more definable, positive action will be forthcoming from the government facilities. While all the official departments of our government that has been 'sent in' ... they have been woefully slow and seemingly unclear or un-knowledgeable concerning this crisis. It is nationally overwhelming. I can't imagine the levels of stress and overwhelm in the Oval Office. My gosh.
I hold this President up to higher standard than any other President I've ever voted for. I won't back away from that, because I feel that we are in the midst of changing times where the actions anyone of us takes' makes a difference to the whole of us and leadership through this time of paradigm shifts due to climate change / global warming / pollution crisis, global economic meltdown, corporate consumption of the planet's resources and destruction of nature, the unfairness of own judgments against each other and ourselves... during this fear ridden journey, we require an integrity in our leadership and own personal demonstrations. Personal opinion. We have become a global community... anyone who uses the internet must be aware of that? This disaster is a global concern and soon the international implications are going to be rolling back at the United States. Bet on it.
If you live on the East Coast of the United States or along the West Coast of FL or in the Gulf of MX basin... you can volunteer right now to help with the clean up on the shores / inland bleeds. If you live in the Gulf basin this link will help you to find an effort in clean up: The Daily Loaf blog.
You will be put through a short training in hazmat clean up. If you work on this you will get sick. You should know that. And you will only be able to do it for a couple of hours at a time or suffer ill health. That's in the worst affected coastal and sea areas. Which are blooming larger. The need will become great, I'm thinking. Here is the GreenPeace link.
Do what you can.
Pray towards heaven; but row towards shore.
