The BP Oil Spill is a tragedy. I know what you're thinking. Yeah, no shit sherlock! Just hear me out as to the context of what I mean.
I assume all of us have certain quotes or observations we've come across over the course of our lives that just stick with us for some reason. They aren't necessarily the most eloquent quotes or astute observations but, nevertheless, for some reason, they remain active in your brain. One such observation for me was, I think, made in George Carlin's Brain Droppings (published back in 1997)... I'm not even 100% sure about that because it has stayed with me for over 10 years now.
Anyway, Mr. Carlin, ever the commentator on language, observed that modern society has misunderstood what makes something a "tragedy". A plane crash, in his observation, was not a tragedy. Death and destruction from an earthquake or hurricane or tornado also not tragedies. His argument was that, in the classic sense, the word tragedy refers to a specific kind of art form - developed (I think) by the Greek playwrights in the centuries before the birth of Christ - where the protagonist inadvertently brings about their own downfall because of their own actions and/or (flawed) character traits. I checked an online dictionary and it does still have this as the primary definition:
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.
So, excepting that real life is obviously not a drama or literary work, I contend that it is the weakness of the American people that has led to the circumstances that brought about the oil spill. It seemed for a little while there that I was not hearing anyone else voice this opinion but then I watched Dylan Ratigan on Tuesday and he unleashed this rant which is better than what I would have come up with:
"Regardless of all the fingerpointing, when it comes down to it, we all...share responsibility for what is unfolding in our country - not just in the past eight weeks but over years here. And the past eight weeks being the most obvious example of it. Regulators who do everything but regulate... in fact, seek to accomodate in the hopes of getting a high paying job when they leave the government. Politicians who choose policy based on what's popular and don't provide any leadership to do what is necessary to end our dependence on fossil fuel - specifically foreign energy or dangerously obtained energy (deep water drilling). Ultimately, it comes down to us (being) so focused on our short-term gains and indulgences... don't pay a lot at the pump. Avoid a lot of the real cost of energy because we refuse to actually see what we stand to lose in the long term in order to enjoy the pleasures of the moment... that cheap gas." -- Dylan Ratigan (6/15/10)
So, that echoes my take. It is wrong to just yell and scream at BP and allow ones self (no matter how tempting) to lose sight of the context of their actions. They and other oil companies are drilling off our coasts because we permit it. The people of the Louisiana elected politicians that aggressively pursue off-shore drilling... even in the face of this disaster (see here or here or here). Ditto for Mississippi.
So while I acknowledge it's unreasonable to expect all of us to transform ourselves into Ed Begley, Jr. It is still a truism that we should only expect change if we demand change. Otherwise, we should expect to remain our own worst enemy and we will see more classic tragedies in the decades to come.
Note: To give credit where is due, I should say that the cartoon was borrowed from The Atlanta Journal Constitution and was found online here.
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