Dying Whales and Failed States:

When the American colonies broke away from English rule in 1776 a document stating why we were doing this was written. This document called the Declaration of Independence has become famed the world over. The basic premise of the document is that Americans can better govern the land and people than the members of the English Parliament. While the words of the declaration struck sparks in the minds of Americans and inspired other people to change their governments the Articles of Confederation which became the blue print for governance of the 13 separate colonies simply did not work.

America was in danger of becoming what we today call a failed state. Rather than failing some of the best minds gathered in Philadelphia and produced a new document known as the Constitution of the United States of America. This document replaced the failed articles of confederation which simply was not working. One would think that the articles would disappear and they did vanish from the scene only to reappear when the American confederacy was established in 1861.

The reason for the unrest which became the American Civil War was a conflict between how American citizens are defined and what rights are to be granted to these citizens. In 1861 part of the country wanted to continue the enslavement of some American citizens. Another part of America wanted to change how these slaves were treated and change the rights that they held as citizens. This conflict had roots in labor vs. management as well as basic citizen rights. After 4 bloody years, in which more Americans died than in any other war, stillness descended over the battlefields and the dying stopped. The American experiment in the breakaway south was ended by force of arms.

The ideas that led to secession did not fade away. Many in the American South continued to believe that some citizens had the right to deny citizenship to other citizens. If these rights could be denied then these citizens could be exploited and wages withheld. This would of course lead to the re-enslavement of these citizens. While the fight over this issue was largely resolved when Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shadows of this conflict remain. Today these ideas of abuse of power are being applied to the new citizens coming across America’s southern border. These abuses are again causing deep divisions in the American body politic.

As a background we have an oil well leaking millions upon millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The problem is no longer dying whales but dying shrimp, oysters and crabs. Dying wet lands will not kill just the creatures that live and breed in these marshes. The death of the marshes may well lead to the failure of America as a viable state. Several storms like Katrina and Ike could this time utterly destroy cities like New Orleans and Houston. I do not think America could withstand such a loss without the central government undergoing radical changes.

Disaster in the Gulf