Dearest daughters,
Once upon a time, in the America of your childhood, a generation of baby boomers got GREEDY!! It was all about having THINGS. It didn't matter if those things meant that poor people with no power were enslaved in sweatshops. It didn't matter if the natural resources of Mother Earth were stripped recklessly from her mantle. Nothing mattered but having THINGS!!!...and MONEY!!
America was given warning after warning about the consequences of their consumption economy! Workers in factories died like flies from exposure to dangerous chemicals and dangerous machines. Workers in mines died over and over from explosions and fires. Your families in Guatemala died trying to earn a few paltry cents a day working in foreign owned sweatshops! But time after time the American people voted in politicians who protected the owners of the mines and factories for .......MONEY!
Don't think our family isn't guilty of being greedy! You never wanted for clothes or toys and we drove everywhere in a big old gas guzzler. That's why I was always nagging you to help me collect shoes for Guatemala! That's why I was always sewing to send money to charities and then birth families! We didn't equalize all our greed with these actions but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have tried....
But then came our BIGGEST warning!!! BP Petroleum company just happened to be the guilty party this time but it could have been any number of reckless corporations who subscribed to the MONEY first [aka GREED] philosophy. This time the Gulf of Mexico was the portion of Mother Earth that the greed spoiled! You know??? The big stretch of water that washes up on on our favorite piece of paradise...'Grandpa's beach' as you fondly call Lido Beach.
The place where we recharged and relaxed...well Mom and Dad recharged and relaxed while you played.
One poor decision after another was made leading up to and after the BP spill but then the President of the United States at the time, Barack Obama, finally did the SMART thing and told the GREEDY oil companies that they had to stop drilling in the DEEPEST of water until the companies figured out what went wrong and made sure that it WOULD NOT happen again! You should have heard the whining from all the greedy Baby Boomers!!! You'd think there was no other way to fuel their cars or power their computers?!?! Or earn a paycheck?!?
These whiners ran to a judge in New Orleans who they knew had BIG investments in oil companies and asked him to reopen the oil wells in the deepest of waters. You see, a LOT of our judges are RICH WHITE MEN who want to stay RICH WHITE MEN and they are not IMPARTIAL when it means MONEY in their pocket! They do not care if Mother Earth has been poisoned to death! They do not care what will be left of Mother Earth for you and your children! All they care about is themselves and their bank accounts!!!! Guess what this judge decided?? Yep, he decided that PAYCHECKS NOW were more important than MOTHER EARTH FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So treasure this picture! It will be a loooooong time [if ever] before you or your children see this paradise. it is my fondest hope that your generation will smack some sense into my generation and get rid of big business politicians, mega-corporations, sweatshops and copious consumer consumption....I'm not sure Mother Earth will give us any more chances!
good post. and as long as you're writing for their future reading pleasure, you can tell Mari and Julia that Barack Obama only lasted one term and was woooshed out of office so fast because he spent his summers golfing instead of administering the nation. :)
ReplyDeleteTo the Asian commentators who insist on leaving comments in your native tongue...STOP!! I will continue to delete your comments so don't waste your time!
ReplyDeleteTo Gardenia: I will leave your comment so my daughters can see how mature Americans can agree to disagree! I guess you forget about Bush's weeks of horseback riding and golf in Texas during Katrina? Our Presidents deserve and NEED stress relieving moments no matter their political affiliation.
I agree with Gardenia. Good post. And I also agree with the rest of her comment.
ReplyDeleteDrill in the Gulf or become dependent on foreign oil?
Its really sad, and not that I can do anything about it, but I will not even watch the news anymore about this, I cannot stand to see the animals and aquatic wildlife struggling to live. I ahve always thought that we have to pump the oil because the republicans own so much of it they want the money,I mean honestly we are plently smart enough not to have to run our cars and such off oil, its just that they like there money and I am not saying I just vote democratic I vote for whoever I think is lying the least and will hopefully do the better job, they are all crooked which is why I have no interest in politics.
ReplyDelete