Editorial: Hope in catastrophe

Issue of June 18, 2010/ 6 Tammuz, 5770

A few weeks ago, back when the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was just a terrible disaster and not yet a full-blown catastrophe, Dave Ross, the Seattle-based satirist and commentator on the CBS Radio Network, made an interesting observation: no one is trying to downplay the spill or claim that it is getting more attention than it really deserves.

The stories dominating the news are of the multiple failed attempts to shut the spigot deep below the sea; of the impact the spilled oil is already having on lives and businesses in the Gulf and of the damage that might be yet to come; the increasingly tough line President Obama is taking with Britsh Petroleum as he seeks to blunt criticism that his administration did not do enough, quickly enough; of other oil companies trying to make the case to Congress that they are much more careful with their drilling that those klutzes at BP; and estimates of just how much oil is actually flowing out of that ruptured well — estimates that seem to be rising by the week.

What we’re not hearing are accusations from the far right that the far left is staging photos of oil-slicked birds for maximum shock value, or that there really isn’t that much oil and everyone should just stop exaggerating.

This is good news, if there’s any to be found in this horrible mess. It’s almost like the spill zone, ever-widening with the tide, is also a partisan-free zone, of sorts. Everyone is on the same side, more or less. BP is the common enemy, particularly if you take your cues from the president’s oddly-militaristic refererences to the spill and cleanup. To a lesser extent the administration is being blamed by some for not acting quickly enough to contain the oil.

To mitigate that perception, the president has taken four trips to the Gulf to survey the damage and the cleanup effort, as of this week, publicly dressed down BP and said he would demand that officials of the company plan to set aside sufficient assets to pay for the cleanup, and even addressed the nation from the Oval Office.

It remains to be seen in which direction the nation’s overall energy policy will head. Certainly, off-shore drilling has become more politically toxic than it ever was before the BP spill outdid the Exxon Valdez as the nation’s worst-ever spill. And it would be unreasonable to expect lefty tree huggers, and right wingers who consider global warming an economically dangerous hoax to suddenly retreat from their positions. But if all of us can agree on something related to the environment, albeit it amid catastrophe, then there’s room to hope for reasonable discussion in the future and a meeting on middle ground. And that would be a very convenient truth.

Congratulations to Martin Oliner on his election as mayor of the Village of Lawrence. In an unusual, contested election, Oliner won alongside the outgoing mayor, Simon Felder, who decided to follow up his term at the top with another run for trustee — a decision that upset some voters. The rest of the voters have spoken, however, and his bid for reelection was a success.

We haven’t commented previously on this race, but couldn’t help but notice that a number of e-mails endorsing these or those candidates were sent out on Yahoo lists dedicated to several local shuls. There is no need to single out any particular candidate since ultimately all were represented in the various e-mails and perhaps even in endorsements reportedly made from the pulpit in at least one shul (others simply urged everyone to go out and vote).

Shuls are not-for-profits, formally known as 501(c)3 organizations, referring to a segment of the tax code. That segment prohibits electioneering by non-profits at risk of losing their tax-exempt status. All would do well to remember that rule.