I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me? My help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121: 1)
I got a great letter today from a reader of the GregBlog. I thought it would be a great idea to share it with you, realizing that sometimes my opinions don’t necessarily cover the “BIG Picture”. Enjoy the letter, and then see my response!
From a letter to the GregCast Sunday June 6, 2010...
Your sermon today was short sighted and focused only on the emotionally easy target… BP. Yep – easy to point a finger at Big Oil. No doubt they caused this accident and are not doing much to fix it and they likely will not care about the lasting damage… you really believe that?
But as long as you are jumping on Big Oil – why not jump on BIG Politics from environmentalist that make Big Oil drill in mile deep water where the ability to “fix” an accident is as easy as repairing something in space? Do you think the whole Gulf would be threatened as it is now if the accident had happened in 100 feet of water where access to the leak is easy? What about such a leak on land – perhaps Anwar – where maybe a few caribou may die (and a zillion mosquitoes)? But here we are – banished to drill way out at sea where the logistics of getting there are hard and then oil companies have to do everything by remote robots in pressures that are extreme (> 2,500 psi) at depts. Over a mile deep? Yep, no sin there.
Why not also jump on Big Government that had no plan of action other than hope the spill goes away, do photo ops and collect evidence for legal actions? They even disinvited one of the nation’s leading physicists to a brainstorming session because he was “anti-gay” - the unforgivable “PC” Cardinal Sin… never mind he is a top physicist and may have helped find a solution. Yep, our Government has no oil skid marks in their shorts.
Yep – BP made a mess and yep, it is ugly and yes, it will take decades to repair the environmental damages. But as Jesus also said, “Let the Bubba without sin, toss the first stone”.
Your vent was emotionally driven and only loaded with one kind of ammo… may want to rethink your parables.
The GregCast Response June 7, 2010...
First of all, I tend to only deal with emotions... I'm weak kneed like that. But your point about enough sin to go around is certainly valid, and the reason why they "had to drill" where they drilled is a perspective that I hadn't considered. So the next blog will have to be about BIG Government and their ability to muddle things up. If this is Obama's "Katrina", then he too is "reacting" to an issue that could have used MORE planning, and a more PROACTIVE.
I would propose that you got lost in the title of "Big Oil", because of the cliche that it brings. "Big Oil" = some Liberal who seeks to hate Dick Chenney, or George W. On the contrary, I was simply making the connection between the rich people and the poor widow, which was the actual Gospel at the daily Sat. Mass, and it was just too good of a connection. Even more perfect was the, albeit too emotional, connection in those who give everything verses those who give from the surplus. {I edited my response here as I eluded to some personal matters, and family ties}
Ultimately I was only trying to make the connection with the "Poor FIsherman" who has been FORCED to possibly give it all up because of Big Oil, and with your point well taken, Big Government seeking to place drills "where no one will see them".
Personally, I was entertained by Neil Bortz (sp?) who suggested a tactic that has worked well with underwater oil leaks in the former USSR. They take a low level NUKE to it, and the floor of the lake just turns to glass. POOF, no leak!
I guess I'm guilty of ignoring the every detail of these complex issues. I've always been guilty of over simplifying things, but my heart does go out to the folks down there, and it breaks when I see the mess. But let me point to the conclusion of the blog as to MY priority of this entry:
"The earth will readjust,and life will live on, but how we respond as a people will forever change the future of our humanity, and the way we respond with our wealth." [That is to say that the mess will be cleaned up by nature itself... God is bigger than Big Oil or Big Government. And that leaves the door open for which ever style of leadership you choose to do the right thing, to seek a balance of independence and support, and to be ready to assist others (and beaches) when they are in need.
Thanks for being one of the few readers I've got... I'm definitely not going "viral" any time soon with the whole GregCast thing. Its a labor of love and discipline as I seek to figure out the best way to share the Gospel, when the time comes for me to share. Your response, and your support, is a great learning curve for me, so keep punching! I'm gonna need the help!
Peace,
Greg
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