Keeping the shit away from the fan

Citizen One: Don’t worry about all the rain and the chance that there’s going to be a big flood. Relax. It’ll be fine.

Citizen Two: I can’t, I worry. I don’t think they’re letting enough water out through the dam.

Citizen One: Don’t worry. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

Citizen Two: What if the water overload spills over the dam and helps the river blow out the bridges and levees? Then what?

Citizen One: Start filling sandbags. Fast.

       When trouble is brewing it would be great if we could hear a booming voice from the sky repeating what that TV mechanic used to say in some long bygone commercial advising regular oil changes: “You can pay me now, or pay me later.”

       We tend to pay later, and if we aren’t lucky, we then have to pay the highest price. We do it all the time. Pay the big price. We never learn that with a little foresight, we don’t have to. But it’s pretty plain to see our preferred comfortable position is to keep our heads firmly planted in the sand.      

       Many years ago I had a washing machine that screeched increasingly louder as it seemed to be throwing grease onto clothes it was supposed to be washing. We ignored it and kept using it, not wanting to pay for repairs or possibly a new washer. Both of those scenarios meant spending money that was already tight. Ignoring the screeching worked best for us.

       Then one day while in the back yard I could hear the washing machine wailing in what seemed to be an otherworldly desperate pleading from an ailing machine, as if it were being slowly and painfully drained of life, and wanted some relief.

       Only then did I realize, wow, that thing is really messed up. Better get it fixed. Through good fortune I found out it would be under warranty for another week or so, and its repairs were done for free. We could have done this when the machine first started screeching, but…. we didn’t.

       Another time from the days of yore, the brakes on my car were getting increasingly bad. I’d pump the pedal to get a little more pressure, and it seemed to work every time. But because of that, I never made a mental note that I needed to fix the brakes. But one early morning, the brakes failed to stop me. I coasted into an intersection, right through a red light, while madly pumping the brake pedal.

       Luckily, it was so early in the morning, there were no other cars, and nothing happened. But I realized then I could have been in big trouble if there had been cars crossing through. Only then, after what could have been a major crash, did I go get the brakes fixed.

       Once, while an ex was being unfaithful, I vaguely knew something was amiss, but chose to ignore what were very clear signs. Upon an eventual confrontation, it all blew up and we went our separate ways. Even though the signs were visible for several months, on some level I decided to ignore them. As if ignoring them meant they couldn’t mean anything.

       This denial, conscious or not, happens repeatedly in the human experience, from the microcosm of individuals and their daily interactions, to whole countries confronted with problems that cause death, injury, property loss, widespread financial disasters, or other chaotic events.

       So while we in the United States may have sensed the economy was running too hot in 2008, and home loans were being handed out for practically nothing, most of us preferred to look instead at the bright side. We were happy with money being made all around in the booming economy. How could we worry about a slump? We didn’t want to go there.

       The sub-prime home mortgage debacle, which was clearly evident as a growing problem for months, wasn’t faced front and center until it came to the brink of toppling the U.S. economy. Only panic economic stabilizing measures by the government averted a total meltdown. But the problem still lingers with a crippling, longstanding double dip-recession that has the economy staggering like a punch-drunk fighter.

       Terrorist activities against us were on the rise prior to 9-11, and the general feeling coming from somewhere was that we should be ready for a big attack that could happen any day somewhere. We didn’t know when, or what it would be. So what could we do? Worry? No, we just went on with our lives and hoped for the best.

       Then 9-11 happened. And, once again, after disaster struck hard, the government acknowledged the problem: Its intelligence system failed. And for the country’s future health, it needed to be fixed.

       A few decades ago, governments all over the globe realized all the available landfills were just about filled up with trash. So only then, after years of evidence that it was a problem that wouldn’t be going away until it was dealt with, came the panicky realization that this problem suddenly had to be solved for a simple reason:  There was no place to put future trash. The answer came with big recycling programs to divert the massive inefficient waste flows, and globally, cultures tuned in to the necessity and common sense of recycling.

       Regulators in the U.S. didn’t enforce safety rules for offshore oil rigs, or natural gas pipelines. Then, lo and behold, the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico happened from a poorly maintained rig. And a neighborhood in San Bruno, California blew up because an old pipeline that should have been repaired or replaced, leaked gas.

       Only after the mayhem of these disasters causing death, destruction and ecological ruin were moves made to prevent more of this stuff happening in the future.

       But not before, when the disasters would likely have been averted.

       In all of these cases, follow-up investigations show that signs of a potential disaster were clear for anybody to see if they’d bothered to look. Then come the cliché conclusions that “mistakes were made” and corrective actions are pursued.

       Still, we know that to take the needed corrective measures to turn away or minimize the mayhem of a disaster, it is inconvenient, costly and time consuming. And many times, the unwillingness or inability to pay the price for preventive measures is the sticking point. If prevention costs eat into profits, which they inevitably will, those actions are easy to ignore.

        Now an energy crisis looms for the United States bigger than any it has so far experienced. Not enough future oil supplies are lined up, and competition for energy of all kinds has become hot and heavy from China, the emerging giant of the East. Like it or not, we will continue to be oil dependent until the gasoline engine is no longer driving cars. That doesn’t look to be changing any time soon, as gasoline powered cars are continuing to be built and bought globally.

       Right now, all the signs are clear to see. We need to develop much more sources of affordable energy for our future. Or?

       Or, there will be an energy crisis hitting our country. History has shown we have been very resourceful in responding to the ill effects of big crises of all kinds. But at some point, one wonders, when will we wait too long to make an effective correction to a vast, critical problem that causes widespread chaos?

       If we keep on the same path of blissful denial when foreboding signs appear, we are our own worst enemy. We need to wake up to what’s going on around us. If we do, just like the TV mechanic used to say, we can pay now or pay later. Now is affordable, later will surely be very expensive.

       We need to listen to the washing machine when it screams out for relief, then fix it. We need to repair the bad brakes when they continually show signs of giving out. We need to confront those who break agreements or the law and in doing so, hurt people and nature.       

       It’s not popular to note and heed clear-cut warnings from unmistakable signs that point to a future disaster, by making early corrections.

       But if we stand by and do nothing and let harmful situations take hold, we may be unable to survive the flying load of doo-doo after it hits the fan. 


Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf