May 31 2010

Obama’s Oil-and-Water Bipartisanship

HYPE

Excerpts from Obama’s Oil-and-Water speech yesterday in New Orleans…

What is striking about today’s debate about oil and water mixing in the Gulf of Mexico is the degree to which it remains rooted in the culture wars of the 1960s – in arguments that go back forty years or more.

In the early years of the environmental movement and opposition to the offshore drilling, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of Big Oil of being hippy tree-huggers.

Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of corporate America itself – by defacing Exxon signs; by blaming Shell Oil for all that was wrong with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor the CEO’s who enrich us all by enriching themselves.

Most Americans never bought into these simplistic world-views – these caricatures of left and right. Most Americans understood that concern for the environment does not make you a hippy tree-hugger, and that there is nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America’s corporate hierarchy.

And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never entirely drained away. All too often our politics still seems trapped in these old, threadbare arguments – a fact most evident during our recent debates about oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, when those who opposed offshore drilling were tagged by some as eco-freaks, and a corporation providing its full resources to shut down the leak was accused of criminal negligence.

Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions.

Basket stars, crinoids, anemone, and crab

15 comments

Skip to comment form

  1. In other words…

    Still, what is striking about today’s patriotism debate is the degree to which it remains rooted in the culture wars of the 1960s – in arguments that go back forty years or more.

    In the early years of the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of government policies of being unpatriotic.

    Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of America itself – by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national shame to this day.

    Most Americans never bought into these simplistic world-views – these caricatures of left and right. Most Americans understood that dissent does not make one unpatriotic, and that there is nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America’s traditions and institutions.

    And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never entirely drained away. All too often our politics still seems trapped in these old, threadbare arguments – a fact most evident during our recent debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal.

    Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions.

    • Edger on May 31, 2010 at 16:21
    • #

    straddling and trying to please everyone, B……..

  3. there is nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America’s corporate hierarchy.

    What on earth is he talking about?

    I am beyond sick of Obama’s bullshit rhetorical tricks.  Bleh.

    • TMC on June 1, 2010 at 02:13
    • #

    He was and always will be a puppet of his corporate, Wall St masters. No better than Bush and in some aspects worse.

  5. I read one of Obama’s books and was really impressed by his mother and how smart she was – and ahead of her times.  I can’t believe Obama is bringing up this 60’s stuff and then saying we can’t to be divided about this (Oil/off-shore drilling?) as we go into the future.

    He just has no appreciation of the importance of the environment, Nature, Pachamama, Gaia, Mother Earth.

    Not the leader we need now.

  6. That speech is from 2008.

Comments have been disabled.