We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

BP Ignoring Dispersant Limits With Coast Guard's Consent

from Mother Jones. It's clear who is actually in charge of the Gulf cleanup efforts.

The author asks this rather naive question:
The repeated exemptions of course beg the question: What's the point in setting limits on dispersant use—an acknowledgment that these chemicals themselves present serious environmental concerns—if they're going to be ignored almost every day? 
The democratic facade, behind which hides the real rulers of the world, require the latter to perform their democratic dance for the duped working people in the audience. Ruling class media participates in this deception by giving wide coverage to the restrictions of the Coast Guard and little coverage to the exemptions and lack of enforcement.