The Failure of Power

Governments have a lot of responsibilities. The citizens of any country depend on the leaders to do certain things. One is to enforce the laws that are on the books and are needed to ensure security and domestic tranquility. Our leaders swear to protect and defend the Constitution and defend us against enemies both inside and outside of the country. Our federalist system was originally designed to be small. Throughout history governments grow larger and ours is no different. Through the use of bureaucracies, control is maintained at local levels. But as government grow beyond their control, they lose the ability to govern effectively. When any government fails to fulfill it primary duties while acquiring more power, their actual powers tend to decrease. Since government ultimately rule through the general approval of the citizens, anytime a government loses that approval it is doomed to fail.

The US Federal Government has extended its power for many years. Just recently, with the passage of the National Healthcare takeover, the government has made the largest power grab in American history. But with all of the failures of the government, from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the SEC, it is clear to many that regulations are worthless without the will to regulate. There is becoming a view that the US has fallen into a greater state of lawlessness. The US Justice Department has refused to punish individuals who did not even defend themselves when found intimidating voters in Philadelphia.

Our leaders have openly criticized state laws, that mirror federal law, without bothering to read it. Various members of the government have openly encouraged riots, by lying about the Arizona law while at the same time refusing to enforce the federal immigration laws. Even though other states have similar laws on their books, Arizona has been singled out for political reasons. This is not good governance.

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Beyond the failures is the fact that the only answers coming from Congress is the call for more regulations. What good is it to pass more regulations that will also be ignored. I oppose any new immigration laws due to the fact that the current proposed law in the end is no different from the Immigration law of 1986. The politicians are saying that "this time there will be enforcement." Well I just wonder if they think that we are that stupid. Without enforcement, laws are worthless.

Drill Baby....Spill Baby

I've waited to discuss the BP oil spill disaster to gather as much information as I could. But as information trickles out I felt compelled to say something. This is such a huge disaster that it defies simple explanations or terms. Modern day life is built around the use of oil. So much of what we use everyday is based upon the use of oil that our society will collapse without a dependable supply. Alternative fuels so far have not presented the ability to replace all uses of petroleum. Promises don't fill the engine of growth. Only dependable supplies of oil will power the world economy for the foreseeable, until viable options can be found to replace every use that is currently being fulfilled by crude.

But that in its self now presents a massive problem. With the world environment, both political and natural, being in its current state we must secure adequate supplies of oil to support research into alternatives. We are past the tipping point on many issues. The national security of many of the world's nations are in jeopardy due to the location of resources. As a nation the US uses too much oil from unreliable or unfriendly sources. We must fin a way to safely recover as much of our own oil and still work towards the ultimate goal of weaning ourselves off of this dangerous addiction. The scariest part of this dilemma is that we must decide who we can trust. There are too many people who are willing to demonize a whole industry to achieve there goals. Where I have an issue with such ways of thinking is that there is a lot of talk but no real planning for real solutions. Wishing and hoping are not what I would call reliable plans for success. Wishing something away usually doesn't work.

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So now with another environmental disaster currently occurring, it is time to take stock of ourselves and how this is going to affect the entire nation. We know that there were failure up and down the ladder. From the management of the oil rig to the government regulator, too many people were asleep at the wheel. It seems that human error, arrogance, and greed may have cost eleven people their lives and untold dollars. The full scope will not be known for a while. But it is shaping up to be the most costly oil spill in history.

In the following video Robert Dudley provides an update to the efforts of his company. One question dealt with the publics faith in off-shore drilling. After such a huge failure of government and industry, it is hard to trust anyone. The problem with such distrust is that it fails to take in the reality of our dependence. It is true that a repeat of a spill of this magnitude is totally unacceptable, but the alternatives to not having fuel supplies is also bleak. Without petroleum based fertilizer food production could plummet, transportation of resources could become prohibited, and the standard of living will decline. Hunger worldwide will cause even greater political instability. We are just too dependent on oil.

So what is the answer? I'm afraid it is not simple. We need leadership. We need a consensus builder who will bring people together. But I don't see any from the leaders in Washington. I see petty politics and leaders more interested in dividing the American people into small, more easily controllable groups. Our leaders seem to only care about this issue when they discovered that they could not use it against their opposition and that it put themselves in political danger.

The current energy policy seems to be built on more illusion then fact. To create any type of plan there must be something that is in short supply, trust. We must find a way to trust our leadership to do the right things. We must find people who will police the oil drilling rigs. We must find people who can create alternative fuels. We must allow those with the knowledge of the current system, run it as cleanly and as efficient as possible, without asking the impossible. These things must be done. But it may be too late. Without building this trust we could be dooming ourselves and future generations to disease, hunger, and global warfare.

©2010 Pedro Sykes - Some Rights Reserved

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.



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