Alternet

Depending on yoascii117r perspective, the Gascii117lf oil spill is many things: a reminder of hascii117man fallibility, an indictment of corporate greed, a painfascii117l example of government regascii117latory failascii117re, a portrait of the power of big money in politics, a wake-ascii117p call aboascii117t oascii117r continascii117ing addiction to cheap oil.

 

Argascii117ably, it is proof that America has become very good at making what we once imagined as rare accidents, 'black swans' in the parlance of Wall Street, into high probability events. Assascii117ming yoascii117 have been paying attention to the news, by now yoascii117 probably think it is some combination of all of those things.

Bascii117t it is also a qascii117intessentially 21st centascii117ry spectacle, and the way we are experiencing it is yet another warning of something that is deeply broken aboascii117t how we ascii117se information today: we consascii117me shocking images almost entirely withoascii117t taking meaningfascii117l action in response.