You thought wrong.
Our sacred covenant with the earth is not to protect and preserve it after all. BP and our oil drilling laws have shown us that the covenant with Almighty Buck gives human beings the right to strip the earth of its abundance and leave behind environmental devastation for posterity.
The earth and seas are under the rule and dominion of private profit-driven international corporations. The global community decided long ago that this is how it should be. Common economic ideology dictates that our natural resources should serve only short-term human needs. Our governments, even the most enlightened among them, are convinced that profit is more important than people, that shareholder value is greater than nature's value.
Somehow we cannot see a way to value life and money at the same time. We cannot find a way to profit without endangering the delicate balance of the earth. We cannot imagine a comfortable existence without sacrificing our natural surroundings for it.
We continue the call for off-shore drilling. Almighty Buck wants it that way. We will not "kick our addiction to oil," or so he says. We are not willing to sacrifice convenience for longevity. So we are told.
As we watch the billions of gallons of toxic oil plumes deadening our sea life, the majority of us would gladly inconvenience ourselves for an end to this destruction. We are willing to forgo shareholder dividends for peace of mind and a greater future on this earth.
It takes our business, political, religious, and global leaders to say "enough." By ourselves, we do not have the power to stop "off-shore drilling." We do not possess the engineering skills to create a green car, cheap solar power, or replace our national oil dependency with eco-saving alternatives. Yet we can imagine it; speak of it loudly and boldly for all to hear.
To effect real change, we must join forces in large numbers and say no more to the savage raping of our earth and sea. No more to off-shore drilling. No more to threatening our eco-systems. No more to profit over people and life itself.
There is another way.
We can hold a vision, a dream perhaps, of a balanced life where the earth and sea serve us as we preserve them. Our vision includes a symbiotic relationship with nature where She provides for us and we protect Her.
In the meantime, we watch in agony the destruction of the Gulf coast, the livelihoods of those that live by nature and the unbelievable toll of perishing sea life. We recognize our vision remains a "pipe dream." (No pun intended.)
Yet it does not have to be. Nature should not be trumped by private interests. People need not take second place to profits.
If you are looking for someone's "ass to kick," you might try finding Almighty Buck.
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