Catastrophe and Social Change*

So now that the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is over and we are onto more important things like hot Russian spy on spy action I would like to take a few moments to reflect back on what we learned from this most recent spill. Other than the fact that most sea birds and fish are not, unfortunately, oil resistant not much. Sure it made great television for a few weeks, lots of attractive news correspondents furthered their careers (I am assuming this, I don’t actually have a TV), We all felt that special bond that only comes from ritually and communally tarring, feathering and then executing some BP executives. We had boycotts and vigils, people cutting their hair and mailing it to the Gulf. We had outrage and then more outrage, conspiracy theories and a glimpse into the corrupt world of our fabulous corporate suzerains government. But other than that what did we have? Oh, we also had suspension of 1st amendment rights, but really the 1st amendment is quaint, and was always a bit overrated.

So what was I talking about again? Oh, yes The Plague! Well, not really The Plague, but rather I was thinking about something I read a few years ago (or maybe I am just making this up–who knows). The general gist is that societies rarely, and I mean rarely, undergo massive societal transformation without being forced to do so by an outside, usually environmental, factor. Par exemple the plague of the calamitous 14th century that killed off anywhere from 30-50% of the population of Europe (perhaps more), and led (forgive my, for the sake of brevity, over simplification) to, among other things, a change in the social order (ie, less people = increased demand for labor = increased value of labor…basically) that is most notably present in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 England, and set the stage for the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, and helped to overthrow–at least in the mind of the “common man” the absolute authority of the church.

In the case of the French Revolution (again an over simplification) the overthrow of the monarchy would not have been possible without the “aid” of a famine, which finally sent the masses to Versailles to pluck the King and his family from their lives of luxury and ended (well, basically) the hereditary monarchy of Europe’s’ most populous country.

and yadda yadda yadda…

So what does this have to do with the whole Gulf thing? Well,  I know we all have hope of something really good coming out of this criminal assault, but I don’t see it coming. Perhaps a few positive changes will come of it but, to be frank, it didn’t kill enough people or negatively impact the lives of enough people for any real dramatic change to come of it.  Which is doubly tragic.  So sit back and enjoy the onslaught of BS from your corporate masters telling you how everything is going to be alright, and to not adjust your set, keep on buying stuff, all you need to do to “save the planet” is recycle, buy compact fluorescent light-bulbs, and join the Sierra Club.

*This obviously isn’t addressed to all you active and engaged progressives who only buy locally grown/manufactured goods and/or services and drive a Prius, you can go back to your yurts with your rightful feelings of self-satisfaction intact. No, this is addressed to the regular folk who believe in Jesus and work for a living.