There was once a community that lived in fear of a gang of thugs who lived on the outskirts of town. For the most part, they didn't cause too much overt trouble. The people put up with the gang solely because they brought fresh fruit to the town market each weekend.
One day one of the thugs came into town and started beating up people. Wielding a baseball bat, he smashed store windows, turned over trash cans and hit people as they scurried about. The small police force tried to corral him, but he was a huge brute and, to be frank, they were all scared of him. For a man of his size, he was also very shifty. Each time the police thought they had him cornered, he effortlessly eluded capture.
The police chief called a town meeting. "Folks, we can't seem to apprehend this fellow," he told the townspeople. "I know a lot of you are worried that his brothers-in-arms will soon join in and then no one will be safe." People nodded in agreement.
"So, we have a plan," he continued. "We believe the best way to head off an even worse disaster is to sneak out to the edge of town to capture the rest of the thugs while they sleep. If we can get the rest of the gang in jail, it will make it that much easier to deal with this one fellow causing all the havoc."
To his amazement, the townspeople protested. "Who will bring us fresh fruit then?" they cried in unison. "I need fresh fruit for my award-winning pies," screamed Sally Jabonski. "Without fresh fruit, less people will come to our town market and that will hurt our economy," said Mayor Dumplestinger.
The police chief threw up his hands. "If we don't arrest the gang now, it could bode serious trouble down the road."
******************************
This isn't a perfect analogy, but, for me, it's close enough to describe the situation in the gulf in terms of the debate for the deep water drilling moratorium. Though a deep water well is THE cause of the devastation hammering the people of the gulf, many are just as outraged that the federal government is not allowing other deep water wells to operate.
For this region, oil both is an ever-present environmental danger AND the economic lifeblood of their communities and households. So, while they rail against BP and this one solitary well, they are forced to accept the danger of other potential ecological catastrophes in order to put food on the table.
While I most assuredly support the moratorium -- safety first -- I can at least understand the rather schizoid position of far too many gulf residents: the very thing that may destroy their way of life is concurrently one of the chief means that built that way of life.
Like it or not, oil runs through their veins.
One day one of the thugs came into town and started beating up people. Wielding a baseball bat, he smashed store windows, turned over trash cans and hit people as they scurried about. The small police force tried to corral him, but he was a huge brute and, to be frank, they were all scared of him. For a man of his size, he was also very shifty. Each time the police thought they had him cornered, he effortlessly eluded capture.
The police chief called a town meeting. "Folks, we can't seem to apprehend this fellow," he told the townspeople. "I know a lot of you are worried that his brothers-in-arms will soon join in and then no one will be safe." People nodded in agreement.
"So, we have a plan," he continued. "We believe the best way to head off an even worse disaster is to sneak out to the edge of town to capture the rest of the thugs while they sleep. If we can get the rest of the gang in jail, it will make it that much easier to deal with this one fellow causing all the havoc."
To his amazement, the townspeople protested. "Who will bring us fresh fruit then?" they cried in unison. "I need fresh fruit for my award-winning pies," screamed Sally Jabonski. "Without fresh fruit, less people will come to our town market and that will hurt our economy," said Mayor Dumplestinger.
The police chief threw up his hands. "If we don't arrest the gang now, it could bode serious trouble down the road."
******************************
This isn't a perfect analogy, but, for me, it's close enough to describe the situation in the gulf in terms of the debate for the deep water drilling moratorium. Though a deep water well is THE cause of the devastation hammering the people of the gulf, many are just as outraged that the federal government is not allowing other deep water wells to operate.
For this region, oil both is an ever-present environmental danger AND the economic lifeblood of their communities and households. So, while they rail against BP and this one solitary well, they are forced to accept the danger of other potential ecological catastrophes in order to put food on the table.
While I most assuredly support the moratorium -- safety first -- I can at least understand the rather schizoid position of far too many gulf residents: the very thing that may destroy their way of life is concurrently one of the chief means that built that way of life.
Like it or not, oil runs through their veins.
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