About a Beach

So I live here in sunny Florida.  Just this past weekend, we went to the beach.  The beautiful, white-sandy, pristine, Pass-A-Grille Beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida.  To look out at the gentle surf, smell that fresh sea air, and feel the warm sand on my skin, makes me wonder, how can anyone in his right mind be willing to risk that for the sake of offshore drilling?  It's easy for Louisiana to say they want the drilling.  They don't have beaches.  Not like this:

 

Or this:

 

OK, to be fair, Louisiana does have some sandy beaches.  Here's one:

 

That's Grand Isle.  While it is beautiful, it's important to remember... Louisiana is not known for that.  Louisiana is known for wildlife, hunting, fishing, Mardi Gras, insanely good food, the Superdome, friendly people, bayous, the Bayou Classic, agriculture, and so much more.  It is not well known for its beaches.  I had to search quite a bit to find a picture like that of a Louisiana beach.  Most searches of "Louisiana Beaches" turned up pictures like this: 

 

That's not oil.  That's just how the water looks.  Here is that same beach after the spill:

 

 

Well, Florida is known for its beaches.  World-class beaches.  That, plus sunshine, good times, bathing suits, and theme parks.  We manufacture memories.  Our only export is magic.  We have lots of retirees, and their grandkids can't wait to visit.  We love being a tourist state.   Nobody saves all year for that big family vacation to Louisiana.  When I moved from Louisiana to Florida, my friends were all jealous.  No one envies someone who moves from Florida to Louisiana.  Then, the only question is, "Why?"  

We live in heaven.  I don't want want to keep inviting that hell into my backyard.  It's time to end the threat.  Let's get off fossil fuels now!

Why Are We So Angry?

We, the United States of America, are pretty angry.  Not upset... angry.  What's the difference?  'Upset' is a temporary condition.  Angry is chronic.  It's like the difference between 'weather' and 'climate'.  Florida can get a cold snap.  Alaska can see a heat wave.  Both are temporary.  Things will get back to normal.

But that's not happening here.  So many people are so angry, and won't accept reality.  Instead, they're shouting about it.  Raising their fists to the heavens, and vowing to wrest back control.  Promising to deliver some unnamed doom to the protagonists who illegally stole the power from those to whom it rightfully belongs:  them.

I saw a story about a morbidly obese man who died on a flight to the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in Las Vegas.  The comments, left by readers, were overwhelmingly along the lines of, "Fat bastard... he deserved it!"  When did we get so mean?  A man died. Can't we contain the vitriol for a moment to even consider that?

I made a thoughtless comment about young black men to a friend of mine.  I'm black, and my son is a young black man.  The comment was about hip-hop ring tones, and how, when looking for a job, it sounds unprofessional.  My point was driven by the fact that the massive unemployment we are seeing has hit blacks disproportionately, and one needs to avoid every possible disadvantage to get a job.  But I never got to make that point.  Another friend of mine, who is also black, overheard, and took issue with my views.  Now, if he'd gotten upset, I'd feel that that was probably warranted.  But he got incredibly angry, and even threatened me with physical violence.  And he's still angry.  I am not saying that he, or anyone else, doesn't have a right to be angry.  I'm just trying to understand, where is all this coming from?

I look back through some of my posts, and I guess I seem angry as well.  But I know I'm not angry about everything... I do feel passionately about some of the items on the national agenda.  However, out of the context of these items, life is pretty good, and I'm overall very happy.  Perhaps that's the case for what I'm seeing.  Maybe people are angry about a specific thing, but okay with everything else. Or maybe, we've simply lost the art of debate.  We've forgotten how to talk about things with each other. 

I was morbidly obese a year ago.  I had Lap Band surgery and so far, I've lost about 95 pounds.  I still have a way to go. And, I know that there is additional risk of dying, so I try to control my blood pressure.  I also know that internalized anger is poison.  So I've learned to let things go.  I get upset.  But then I ask myself... is this worth me actually dying for?  The lives of my friends and family have never been at risk, so the answer is always, "Hell no!"  So I Let Sh*t Go.  LSG.  Many folks in America should try that.  They'll live longer, better lives.

Just a thought.