I think what's been misunderstood in this entire fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico is the spiritual factor. People in our country are heartsick over this. They sit and watch our natural birthright, this "gift outright" that Robert Frost called North America, being disfigured.
And there's nothing that they can do. There’s nothing that their kids or parents or anyone that they know can do. It's as if we're all a bunch of by-standers, watching part of our country get destroyed.
I have a small recommendation that could fill a big part of our national heart. Put out an offer to the people of America – not just to the youth, but to anyone who can participate. Create a modern Civilian Conservation Corps, and deploy it in all the states of the Gulf. Invite any American who wants to join to come down south this summer and to clean up the beaches and wetlands of the Gulf.
I know that there will be those who warn you of the hazards in this, of the possibility of people getting hurt. Let people sign releases if it's necessary – but give Americans the chance to do something.
I got this idea from the headmaster of Choate Rosemary Hall, the school in Connecticut that John F. Kennedy attended back in the 1930s:
"It is now June 3 and millions of high school boys and girls, college men and women, are finishing up their academic work," he wrote me, "some of them with jobs, many of them no doubt without jobs. Is it not within the purview of any of our many federal agencies to mobilize a national ‘peace corps’ or national environmental protection corps for the next three months, for the purpose of capturing the oil that is already beginning to cause irreparable harm to our environment and to those who live in the Gulf area?"
There's a wonderful story behind this. When he was a student at Choate, young Jack Kennedy organized a group of trouble-making classmates, whom he christened "The Muckers." He gave each member a little shovel in order to show that he belonged.
Maybe you could give that nickname to the huge brigade of people whom I predict will join you to clean up the Gulf this summer. Maybe the best thing that you could do right now – while slapping BP with the bill for all of this – is to let the American people regain the spirit of young Jack Kennedy and reclaim this America the beautiful of ours.
Leave a Comment:
Mr. Matthews,
As you might have realized by by recent abundant emails and comments, I AM THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED AND SICKENED all the way in NY where I can't even smell the vial toxic soup coming to the surface in the waters in the Gulf. The oil is not the only toxic substances escaping from one mile under the water, natural gas, methane gases and I'm sure others are right now being filtered by the Gulf of Mexico water like a big water pipe. The Exxon Valdez was a "surface" spill, with no natural gas and other toxic substances. Before I get off track, and explain once more how even the harshest critics are not getting the scale and scope of this U.S. tragedy of a millenia, my comment to your proposal is- Why don't we get the British youth to come over here, get out in the now toxic marshes without gasmasks(like they make our Americans work) and get them to clean up after themselves. Our youth can and should be the leaders of the "British Youth" chain gangs, wearing aircooled hazmat suits payed for by BP!!!
I was born, grew up, work & live in SE La. I am encouraged by comments here from all. I too do not always agree politically with mr. matthews, but what I do believe is that his suggestion & comments of others is what the american SPIRIT is all about. Political positions, race, creed, are moot in any time of crisis.. I think the entire media world should know that... there was a fraction of coverage to what the poor people in nashville went thru recently as compared to hurricane katrina... I dont believe in generalizing the "British youth" either.. but the fact BP is spending millions on ads here, but YET to pay for the projects the coastal parishes have begun to protect our marshes is pathetic & reminds us of things we need to be vigilant of in any aspect of our nation... greed, corruption, & laziness.. in private, corporate or congressional lives, are the biggest threats to the freedoms & liberties that sets this nation apart from all others. We need to have honest unconditional respect, & care in order to survive any crisis, or any aspect of current times! I was not a hardcore Bush fan, nor have I agreed with most of what the current pres. has done so far....but I will support them as LEADERS... mr. Obama needs to understand that... as we should support each other in trying times.... economically OR ecologically!
Thank you, I would not send my dog to help clean up this mess, let alone children. Why dont some of these pundits that are talking all about how the President is not showing emotion or doing enough go out there and help clean up the OIL!!!
I am just one time reiterating my previous post, just this one time, please Mr. Moderater post it just one more time. Just in case it went unnoticed . THANKS
Mr. Matthews,
As you might have realized by by recent abundant emails and comments, I AM THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED AND SICKENED all the way in NY where I can't even smell the vial toxic soup coming to the surface in the waters in the Gulf. The oil is not the only toxic substances escaping from one mile under the water, natural gas, methane gases and I'm sure others are right now being filtered by the Gulf of Mexico water like a big water pipe. The Exxon Valdez was a "surface" spill, with no natural gas and other toxic substances. Before I get off track, and explain once more how even the harshest critics are not getting the scale and scope of this U.S. tragedy of a millenia, my comment to your proposal is- Why don't we get the British youth to come over here, get out in the now toxic marshes without gasmasks(like they make our Americans work) and get them to clean up after themselves. Our youth can and should be the leaders of the "British Youth" chain gangs, wearing aircooled hazmat suits payed for by BP!!!
great idea i sent a letter to my govenor about the same thing im currently on unemployment and my job training wont start till sept but if i volunteer i will lose my benefits i would go but need amenisty from loss of benefits
A+ show today! Really good and thorough all the way through the hour. Thanks! Love the proposal, hope it happens.
You just mentioned talking about the cozy relationship between oil companies and government on your show tomorrow. Why is it just starting to come out that all the Big Green conservation groups (Environmental Defense Fund, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Nature Conservancy,PEW,.........) are all heavily funded by Big Oil? And now NOAA is completely infiltrated with ex-members of these very groups. It's no wonder we haven't heard scathing condemnation from our leading conservation groups about the cavalier approach the oil companies have taken to drilling for oil with little regard to our ecosystems. Maybe there is a bigger agenda at the core of these idealic armies. How will we ever know the truth about the extent of this catastrophe when there are so many conflicts of interest in favor of Big Oil?
Thank you Chris... you spoke for me tonight... truly. I'm 52 years old. I was self-employed. I'm now seriously underemployed. And I'd like nothing more than an opportunity like you describe. I need meaningful work absolutely as much as I need income, especially when so much hangs in the balance.
My heart breaks for our animals, our waters, our people... all along the Gulf Coast, but also all around this country. So many of us are holding up as best we can to the battering this economic collapse has caused. We're reminding ourselves to just stay in today, to put one foot in front of the other, and to believe that better days are coming. Being able to join up with others around this wonderful land, and give all we can - hands on - to make a difference, is just, as you say, what our collective spirit needs - to unite in caring, in helping, and in believing that we will get through this - all of this.
Chris, the modern version of the CCC is Americorps. They are ready deploying to the Gulf.
Check 'em out at http://www.americorps.gov
Excellent! I had an opportunity to be part of the Youth Conservation Corp in the summer of 1977. I was a teenager w/o a clue and YCC taught me discipline and respect for others. My teachers recognized the difference in my attitude the following fall school term. It was an experience I'll never forget. The work was hard, but the rewards were priceless! I and my new friends helped restore a lake front park by building picnic areas, clearing brush, picking up trash and countless other jobs that had a positive impact on the environment and gave our fellow citizens a lovely place to play.
well its at the point where big oil can probally outpay private merceneries like old blackwater to overtake the US government if they ever wrote legislation that in fringe on big oil or/and military industrial complex its the golden rule he who has the the gold makes the rules. i know kook but sometimes it doesnt seem that far to reach greed is a addiction
The more I dwell on this, the worse it sounds, when you already have a commentor ready to sacrifice his/her health for the benefit of BRITISH Petroleum.
Your proposal puts our first greatest natural resource in deadly harm's way in order to save our second greatest natural resource. Our youth is too important(or should be) to be put in the middle or the outskirts of that toxic mix.
The only way this should be implemented is how I said before- let the British youth come to America, put them in the now toxic marshes to clean.
America's youth equipped with state of the art air or watercooled Hazmat suits, provided by BP, can crack the whip on those Brits who don't work hard enough.
Doesn't anyone value our youth, our future?
I think your idea is an excellent one. I am a high school principal, and I know that there would be interested students. It is also a good way to stimulate the gulf coast economy and bring people to the coast during a summer when few will go. Who knows, perhaps we can even dispel some of the stereotypes held by northerners and southerners if all work toward a common cause. Carol Burris
Chris--This is a great idea! With so many high schoolers and college students, not to mention the rest of us also out of work, the opportunity to work on something this important would be a godsend (not a word I use often).
I remember after Sept 11, there were so many of us who wanted to do something. We have skills that would have been useful in that "war against terrorism" as it was called. I would happily have volunteered to work where I could be useful. Instead we were told to go out and go shopping.
Think CCC or Mississippi Freedom Summer (without the hatred). How inspiring and constructive that would be.
Keep pushing this idea please, Chris.
Chris,
Although I couldn't agree more with your sentiments here, it bothers me a bit when you refer to this country as "our birthright." This country was the Native American's birthright, not ours, and we continue to foul its beauty daily. Although I think a version of the CCC to allow citizens to participate in the clean-up and feel that we are making a contribution is an excellent idea, it's important that we acknowledge that no matter how deep our individual American heritage, we are still usurpers of these lands.
As I watched Chris' show today and heard "Let Me Finish" lead with an ask to the President to revivie FDR's CCC, I was taken aback. Three nights ago I watched The American Experience on my local PBS channel and it featured an hour on the CCC. I was so inspired by this documentary that I whipped out my laptop to write President Obama a letter asking him to revive the CCC. My hope was that this would jump start our country's morals back to a time when there was pride in a days work and pride in developing our country's beautiful and bountiful lands.
It is incredible that Chris tapped into the same vibe along with his advisor from the Choate school. This confirms, to me, that there is great need and opportunity to invest our federal dollars wisely into our people as well as our agricultural and conservationist roots.
But I talked myself out of writing/sending the letter as I felt critics would jump and the administration is too busy capitulating to keep the pundits and voters on their side for the upcoming elections. And I felt sad. Sad that an $800 b stimulus package is unrecognized by the right as doing anything beneficial; sad with the hyporcrisy of the right's demand for less government but also demanding 'resources' when they are in dire straights.
To me, it is reasonable to extend unemployment, training or other stop-gap benefits for the long-term unemployed as long as we have these same folks giving their time in return. But I'm not sure the deficit hawks could take their bellicose punditry back one small notch even if they saw the dollars being reinvested in people and our land.
I am sad, yet again, as a fantastic idea with a reasonable and fair foundation, echoed in the mainstream media,and with a successful track record will probably never be discussed due to the hypocritical and self-righteous backlash that will inevitably be unleashed.
Ms. Collen:
I too am saddened. I live in an area that continues to benefit from the efforts of the CCC and WPA. Sixty years later the community enjoys a small lake and rock parks. I reflect on the number of young people who want to be a part of conservation throughout the U.S. I think of the many adults who could be meaningful employed while making a contribution to the infrastructure of our country (WPA worked on bridges, highways, etc.).
It is frustrating to watch the lack of rational reasoning skills in Washington, D.C. And the vast middle class have less of a voice than ever.
Chris, many people are behind the 2010 CCC concept. I've seen it in blogs and heard it mentioned in many face to face conversations the last few weeks. Thank you for asking President Obama to consider one of the many logical options we have at this point.
Mr. Matthews: You are absolutely right about encouraging our people to help with the Gulf cleanup. There is a political risk, though, as we expect Republicans to complain that after our president allows the beaches to be fouled, he then asks Americans to clean up after the foreigh oil company. But there is already a mechanism in placd that allows this to happen, and if you hammer it as much as we know you're capable of doing, it may just catch on. www.Serve.gov, founded my Michelle Obama, has a major subhead allocated to soliciting volunteers for Gulf oilspill cleanup. Check it out, promote it, and make it happen. And keep up the good work of continuing to validate the free press. Thanks.
Mr. Matthews:
I agree with your comments but the call for actin to clean up the Gulf comes with political risk. Sp;ecifically, Republicans would (again) blame the president for allowing the beaches to be fouled, and then accuse him of audacity for asking our young people to clean p after the foreign oil company. Really, can't you just hear it?
But there is a mechanism in place that would allow it to happen. http://www.serve.gov/, an initiative of Michelle Obama, has a major subhead dedicated to soliciting volunteers to help with the cleanup effort. If you took it upon yourself to repeat your extraordinary proposal over and over, as we all know you are capable of doing, and if you included the web site, maybe it would actually attract some people willing to do the work. So check it out, promote it repeatedly, and keep up all the good work that validates the power of the free press.
Chris
Thank you for bring the reactivation of the US Civilian Conservation Corps this to the attention of America and the world to bring back FDR's greatest program besides social security...we need security for our people and Roosevelt began programs that are still prevalent today in providing us a security net in case we need one. I am an advocate of the reestablishment of the United States Civilian Conservation Corps and have a website called http://www.wecantakeit.org and started a non profit org by that name and ask for American's to call up their Member of Congress in the US House of Representatives to co-sponsor HR 4318 - The 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps Act by Rep Marcy Kaptur of Ohio . That law would give President Obama the authority to order the US Army and the Army National Guard to work on needed public works projects that would give them a practical and peaceful mission on our own soil and waters. The CCC program would employ our young adults and veterans to labor on our public lands and waterways and the Depp Horizon oil gussurel would be part of their job description. This would be a straight forward and accountable PUBLIC SECTOR initiative that would include other agencies such as the Forest Service and National Park Service, EPA , NOAA, Transportation and many other government agencies. Imagine if this program were in existence before April 20, 2010, we would have had workboots on the ground and on our waterways and high seas to fix the problem .... Your mention of this program is the best what our country is capable of and the 20th Century CCC gave us our victorious and greatest generation. Lets make it a reality for our future generation and the world to create similar programs world wide through the UN peacekeepers. I can be reached online through the contact page info on my website.
Great website Jay ! www.wecantakeit.org
And the suggestions to call our congressional reps to support HR 4318 is ideal.
Actually there's no need to initiate a new program. Simply activate the DRAFT and/or enlist eligible men for 90 to 180 days. The military knows how to train for hazmat and first aid so in a few weeks we could have thousands on the coast. Further they would be paid, have health care available through an existing system, and finally they could be informed of the Community Emergency Response Team (I'm on one) which is a volunteer organization.
After all, we've been hearing how the military should get involved so here's a way to create a special force to do the work.
The ad promo for your special on 6-16 is very disturbing. You have allowed that dreadful tea bag to state that the President is a liar about 6 times a day without opposition. That is untrue and offensive. It demeans a man who is doing his best to cope with a series of disasters. The country would do well to begin supporting him and let the GOP and tea bags steep in their witches brew of oil and nays.
The promo for your 6-16 show on the rising of the new right allows a tea bag to state that the President is a liar. That is offensive and demeaning to both the man and the office. Please consider removing that portion of the ad. That's not fair to a man who did not creat these situations but is doing his best to work thru them.
Thank you for thinking of this. I hope the President will take this suggestion seriously. If I could go down there, I would, but I have a couple of jobs this summer that must be done. Chris, you are right about the heartbreak, the spirituality of it all. I feel a close connection to Mother Earth--and I strongly feel She's crying too.
Thank you so much for sharing this great idea on your program. I am a teacher and both of my daughters who are college students would sign up ASAP!!!! YOu are right that this breaks our spirit. I was crying last night as I was watching the images of the oil-covered pelican in the tv. Lets do something to fix this mess!!!!
Chris
I watch or listen to you at five then go to Fox at 6, I rarely agree with you. In fact I think you go over the top too much. That being said your idea enlisting college and unemployed youth in a Civilian Conservation Corps is brilliant. What a great way to serve our country and gain a valuable learning expirience. It could be done in a matter of weeks !!
Americans are ALWAYS ready to pitch in and help others, including our own. However, one gripe I have. What do these people want? An emotional President or a man in command of his emotions? I am sick to death of all the griping I hear in this country. We wanted change but WE have to change also and not sit on our backside and expect ONE man to do it all! People all over have offered suggestions on how to stop this leak but BP just isn't interested! People want to work but I am not sure it is to safe for their health...but then someone must do it.
Has this country forgotten a President that hid in the white house the last 4 years of his 8? He didn't seem to take ANYTHING very seriously. I prefer a man in control, with a clear head. I think he has tried to do too much and has spun his wheels with this Congress. It IS time to get tough. One thing, Valdez was never paid for, clean up not finished and those that lost income, NEVER paid, thanks to a republican congress that reduced everything for Exxon. This is why the American people don't have a lot of faith. Oh, I believe Obama about the costs going to BP but I don't trust Congress, big business.
Put out the call and Americans will go to the coast to help. This would be a win win situation for all and then get the money back from this lousy BP. At least at Valdez, we saw people all over cleaning up and more importantly, cleaning up animals every place. We are letting BP ignore these animals, OUR animals and hiding from everyone. We need people there to save the lives of all they can. Let Obama tell this company go to hell, we will do the job, do it right and bill them for every dime.
This country needs to stop whining and act like the Americans they were before. We need to stop passing the buck off as if this isn't OUR problem. But they better think about this. Obama is Obama and not some other President. No other President in our history has faced so much or a spill like this. Shut up and pitch in and worry about the rest later. These are Americans that are about to lose everything they have worked for and recovered from. They need help and we need to help them.
Hail the Peacemakers :
Chris thanks again for being progressively ahead of the opportunities we do have in this tragedy. I am on day three of trying to get my carefully thought through proposal for scripting such an effort, and what devices might work efficiently and economically to aid this vast cleanup effort; long overdue. Tick Tock.
I've tried the phone numbers you gave us last night for the White House. The 2100 is inoperable. The 1414 has a response, but a quick sidestep to a recording to a website now under construction.
Have a researcher look up and watch the '70's foreign movie about loss of a child in the jungles of South America for a snake-bite and a frantic father's needing a written approval for the doctors in the ER to treat the child. All the officials were "absent." The child dies.
Think it's the "Green Snake" or "Black Snake." It's an old one and heartbreaking.
The ocean is the child herein, that cannot seem to get urgent help.
I"d send you this proposal but I'd need an email address.
The recommendation I am sending elevates the oil spill to an eco-invasion. A declaration of ECO.WAR is what I feel needs to be considered immediately by Congress. Use the TARP funds to get it rolling.
I am activating the AmeriCorps for this now [versus a new structure] and for the future to embrace anyone and everyone for service to this AMcorps.ECO and AMcorps.ECON. One day, I forsee the IMF and World Bank hiring AmeriCorps to rebuild Haiti and [ if we had had this up and running ] New Orleans. This is as critical in regenerating life as ending it in conflict. They will become equal.
For now, BP is the Guarantor for this diaster. They should be required to pay a retainer of a recommended 30% of the total impact [ECO.ECON] to be deposited with the US Treasury. I do not see $ 1 BN; more like $ 3BN. Vendors and agents in the chain of delivery of the clean-up services I recommend, need to be paid timely as would any employer.
The concept creates jobs immediately, recycles, regenerates, and spirits the US to be included in this cure. This is the biggest challenge we've faced as a country since Pearl Harbor. As I have said in the recommendations :
It is time to step up, versus step aside.
Let's roll.
Let me know if you want to see the recommendation. I sent it through channels from Dallas' Rep. E.B.Johnson. No response for day three. Keep ya posted.
John Glad is a planner\designer\developer from Dallas, TX + Madison, WI . 40 years.
INNOVA\Concepts . A think-tank approach to value creation.