copyright © 2010 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
Citizens heard the news. In West Virginia, twenty-five people perished. Hard-working miners left their homes and loved ones, never to return again. Upper Big Branch, a colliery owned and operated by the Massey Energy Company exploded from within. The cavern, filled with gas, was often thought to be a death trap. Family, friends, and familiars knew this, as did government officials. Actually, any American who cares to be cognizant of the countless considerations associated with coal mining could have predicted what occurred only days ago. Yet, most choose not to think of their own culpability in the most recent deaths. Nor do our countrymen and women contemplate the constant infirmity and harm they do to our fellow humans. We are busy.