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Ongoing Gulf Oil Spill Destroys the Myth of Competence
Leonard Pitts Jr.
Now they're saying August. August.
After a month and a half of "top kill" and "junk shot," of chemical dispersants and high-tech domes, of skimmers and controlled burns, this is what we have to show for it. We are now told it may take another "two months" to stop oil from spewing into
The immediate consequences of the
Weeks later, one other consequence becomes jarringly apparent: the Myth of Competence has died.
Meaning the belief that people who engage in high-risk activities -- in this case, the ones who drill for oil 5,000 feet under the sea -- know what they're doing, that they have every contingency covered, that even their backup plans have backup plans. Surely this is what
Anticipating protests from environmentalists, he even promised that, "we'll employ new technologies that reduce the impact of oil exploration. We'll protect areas that are vital to tourism, the environment, and our national security."
Three weeks later, the oil rig exploded. So far, that protection he promised has been nonexistent. That faith in new technologies he mentioned has proved misplaced. And "Drill, baby, drill!" has come to seem tinnier and more childish than ever -- energy policy as schoolyard chant.
We have been disabused of the Myth of Competence, shorn of the belief that the people in charge are capable of handling any eventuality.
Instead, we have seen oil company executives passing the blame around like a hot potato. We have seen strategy after strategy announced in great hope, abandoned in grim resignation. We have seen days turn to weeks and weeks to months and now, apparently, months will turn to seasons. And still the oil flows.
Perhaps most damning of all, we have seen reports that the Minerals Management Service, the unit of the
Why not, after all? What's the worst that could happen?
Nothing, unless you count up to 800,000 gallons of oil a day spilling into the sea.
The other day on
If you hear a certain bitterness in my voice, well, I confess. I look at that ubiquitous video feed of oil gushing into Gulf waters and realize I took for granted that these people knew what they were doing and that they were being regulated by those who had the nation's best interests at heart.
Obviously, I made a mistake.
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The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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Ongoing Gulf Oil Spill Destroys the Myth of Competence | United States
(c) 2010 Leonard Pitts Jr.