Hindsight, what an amazing scope of view it provides. It enables the weak to scratch their heads and state how powerful others were, and to promise never to be the victim again. It increases the ability to err not again but to erase the potential for errors in the future. It irritates the ire and wrath of mistakes made, promising better choices for here and now and there and then of the future. Or does it?
British Petroleum (BP) is now uncertain of the cost cutting choices it made to protect the environment with its drilling for oil in the Gulf, and for that matter anywhere else in any sea, gulf or ocean. BP is trying its ‘darndest’ to correct a malfunction it swore would never happen. The share holder’ profit was the prime motivator for BP not to have taken every conceivable caution to keep the environment clean and now it has shaken its corporate head and promised to make good on the goo and gunk projecting loud and long in the Gulf. Had they known now what others said might happen, BP would have taken the measures necessary to make sure drill baby drill did not turn into spill baby spill. So they say. But then there are other waterways to drill. But then there were other moments of hindsight that must have blinded BP because somehow they didn’t look back long enough to have learned anything:
“The company's most recent effort at damage control—before the spill—occurred after a 2005 explosion at the company's Texas City refinery (the third-largest oil refinery in the country). That was among the most deadly disasters to befall the U.S. oil industry in modern times. The blasts and subsequent fires killed 15 workers, injured 180 others, and sent 43,000 people fleeing to indoor shelters. The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board later concluded that the explosions were caused by company deficiencies "at all levels of the BP Corporation"—including repeated cost cutting that affected maintenance and safety. The Justice Department, working with EPA investigators, launched a criminal investigation that resulted in a $50 million fine against the company for violating the Clean Air Act. But EPA investigators wanted to take the case further and charge top corporate officers, who, they were convinced, had knowledge of the safety deficiencies at Texas City and failed to take corrective action. Their request to continue the investigation was turned down by top officials of the Justice Department's environmental-crimes division, leaving the EPA investigators incensed, according to two EPA officials directly familiar with the probe. "We felt like this went all the way to the very top," says one EPA investigator, who did not want to be identified talking about internal matters. "The $50 million was a laughingstock. It was a slap on the wrist compared to the profits they were making." (BP's reported profits in 2007 were $17.2 billion.)” Newsweek Magazine.
And along the way to not owning up to careless and reckless behavior, BP made sure it had the help of the same good ole boys and girls of the federal government to get away with environmental murder”
“Part of BP’s effort, however, was to increase the company's lobbying "exponentially" in Washington and to dilute new laws on the prevention of oil-spill pollution in 2009, says Dave Levinthal of the Center for Responsive Politics. At times BP has enlisted powerful Washington types like Leon Panetta (now CIA director), George Mitchell (now Obama's Middle East envoy), Christine Todd Whitman (the former EPA administrator), and Tom Daschle (the former majority leader) to serve on its various boards of advisers and "independent" panels. In his rounds on Capitol Hill last week, Hayward was escorted by a former aide to Ted Kennedy who now works for the Brunswick Group, a powerhouse public-relations firm recently hired by BP to help it deal with the oil-spill crisis.” Newsweek Magazine.
There was hindsight right in front of the eyes of BP, the federal government, the watchdogs, the world but blinders were placed on the eyes of those who should have been studying the past to prevent a future of pain, agony and despair.
Seems divine hindsight has drifted into the Ivory Tower of the Vatican. Lofty waves of the past have become ominous clouds of confusion, conspiracy, and chatter as the past behaviors, overlooked, under reported and never said have found their way to the fore. Ringing of the hands, blame and passing the buck have surfaced and mea culpa or two have arisen allowing for braying and ramblings of never again, things will be different this time. But with the hope that the passing of time will also diminish the ills of the culprits calling themselves disciples of God, hindsight went blind for a while. A Cardinal of the church with some convictions decided that hindsight might have some sense and came forward from under the blanket of cover up the Vatican likes to lie under.
“VATICAN CITY - Internal Catholic Church bickering over the handling of its sexual abuse scandal has escalated to a new level, with one cardinal accusing another of a cover-up.
The accusations were leveled by Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna against Italian Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who served for 16 years from 1990 to 2006 as secretary of state, the Vatican's second-most important position.
Groer stepped down as archbishop of Vienna in 1995 after allegations that he had sexually abused young seminarians in the past. He died in 2003 never admitting guilt or facing charges.
Schoenborn told the journalists that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who then headed the Vatican's doctrinal department and is now pope, wanted a full scale investigation of Groer in 1995 but was blocked by Sodano.
Schoenborn criticized Sodano for dismissing reports of sexual abuse as "petty gossip" when he addressed the pope at the start of last month's Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican.
Last month the National Catholic Reporter, a publication in the United States, ran a series of articles which accused Sodano of turning a blind eye to another case of sexual abuse while he was the Vatican's number two from 1990 to 2006.
Several editorials said the accusations against Sodano showed how deep the crisis over pedophilia in the Church has become. Sodano has yet to comment on the accusations.” Reuters.
Lessons from the past seem to be unending when the Pope speaks about no condoms or gay marriage those actions of perceived immoral persuasion are recited and accounted for, but any unethical immoral behaviors permitted by the Church in the past few years is hindsight hidden and held back.
And just when some hindsight could be spread around to keep this country from once again becoming a land where the Constitution means nothing, freedoms are denied at the whim of narcissistic politicians, dumb people ruling the government, we have the 2012 elections. Seems the Tea Baggers are taking over the Republican party, and calling the shots in many state’s primaries wanting those whose small minds, self serving demeanor, and who brag about being a bigot are popular favorites. It is all about throwing out the career politicians, by replacing them with new career politicians. They are wolves’ dressed in sheep’s clothing and have fooled the most foolish in this country. The country is in a mood to throw out the bums and do what, replace them with the kind of bums we had for 8 years during the Bush/Cheney dictatorship?
Huh? Where is the hindsight when you need some fact checks to find out that the same policies of declaring war, hating minorities, cutting taxes for the wealthy, keeping the middle class closer to the lower class, allowing religious hypocrisy to be the rule of land, will once again become law with the new “non career-career politicians” becoming our representatives. When do you look back in hindsight and remember a liaise faire attitude of no controls on the financial markets, the oil industry, the health care industry and say not again? We are already seeing the resurgence of those in South embracing the heroes of the Confederacy, those in the evangelical community calling this a Christian nation, those on FOX News embracing the xenophobia of Joe McCarthy.
Is hindsight no longer considered 20/20 viewing for potential mistakes of the present and the near future? Are we becoming blind of the past and only allowing items and issues we like to be seen as we look behind us? When can we see clearly now?
I thought mistakes happened when you tried something new and had no record of the event or experience. I think stupid happens when you know darn well the errors of your way and pretend that was then this is now. Hindsight, heaven help us for not looking.
1 comment :
On the issue of what the BP execs knew about the blow out preventers, a little different perspective.
A corporation is a legal fiction entity. In doing business, the goal of that entity is to generate profits and try to stay afloat. Every decision is made in an effort to maximize profits, and is theoretically an educated guess. However, the reality is that some of the guesses are going to be wrong.
An entity does not have a mind or a conscience similar to that of a human. Even though humans run corporations, corporations are separate and apart from humans, somewhere between a human and an inanimate object.
Whereas a human will occasionally make a judgment call against his or her personal interest in pursuit of other goals, rarely will an entity do so because it is not really its money. It is the money or interests of others, the shareholders at risk, not the decision makers. It makes for a different dynamic.
As a result, fines, penalties, and lawsuits have to be figured into the economic mix as necessary evils. An entity will try to minimize them, or delay them if possible, but they know that they are always just around the corner. It's the nature of dealing with an entity when you're engaged, and then walking away from it and trying to live a human life. A human being does not generally approach life in this fashion.
Corporations are not human. They can't be. It's an inherent conflict of interest.
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