Yesterday The US
Army Corps of Engineers has denied easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Water Protectors are celebrating this as a victory and it is in a sense, however
this situation will be far from over since corporations have routinely ignored
the law with regard to drilling with or without permission. With the world watching
it seems to me we are at a threshold moment where the US Government will be put
to the test to see if they defend the rights of the people over the ambitions
of a corporation. Fining Energy Transfer Partners for noncompliance will not be
an acceptable outcome. Knowing their intention to drill regardless of law, surely
police should be deployed to stop them. What happens next will define the
credibility of the US democracy and what level of action will be necessary for ‘The
People’ to be heard.
This
situation is very exciting!
Water
Protectors, you have exposed the Achilles Heel of this and all corporations! This
is important! This latest news is a victory but it will lay bare just how
desperate and vulnerable their system is!
The
corporation are desperate to flex their muscles but what you have revealed is
that their Power is actually their weakness! They are a Goliath who can be
brought down!
We see
corporations functioning on an illogical model of perpetual growth that is ultimately
doomed to failure. They amass huge
wealth by convincing people that they can continue to expand their wealth
exponentially year by year, yet the resources they rely upon are finite and
dwindling, they seek to cut costs by reducing environmental safeguards and
lowering employment standards and pay.
Corporations
depend on posting record annual profits just to maintain shareholder
confidence. The problem is that they have often white anted their own value by
reducing quality of service and overestimating the value of their stock. Although
they are experts at shuffling resources around to cover deficits, I reckon it
must leave them fairly vulnerable to a combination of loss of revenue and bad
press (lack of consumer confidence)
The
stock market is based entirely on consumption and is devoid of humanity,
shareholders have no loyalty they are interested only in profit, the ideology
is entirely greed based. Greed and amassed wealth has been the strength of
corporations but is the very thing that will bring them down.
Through
their investment in lobbyists and the favours they buy via political donations they
have created an artificial environment which they depend on for their survival.
Fossil fuel Corporations may appear robust and invincible but in fact they are
like hot house flowers sheltered from the realities of the real world. The
world which ordinary people inhabit, an environment which is much leaner,
requires prudence, resilience, and the ability to survive on very little
materially. We are hungry for change, and the cost of continuing with Oil has
already proven far too costly!
When we (people) stand up for our family, our
friends and our land we find ourselves in a situation that we are compelled, no
matter what our belief systems, to turn to a source of strength beyond what we
can summon on our own. We draw on our spiritual resources which when accessed
can withstand hardship beyond the discomfort any ‘shareholder’ is willing to
endure.
Bravo to the Water Protectors at Standing Rock! With a disciplined and peaceful approach you have managed to avoid giving ‘Law enforcement’ officers a mandate to openly attack you, something I imagine the company, and government might have hoped to happen. You have delayed the progress of their pipeline adding unplanned expense to their project which will cost them the confidence of shareholders and affect the profitability of the company; It will make them look bad. You have disrupted their financial supply chain through divestment… and you have applied pressure to your elected representatives, which I imagine embarrassed the hell out of them and caused them to backflip in the face of huge public backlash.
You have stood toe to toe with
men and women who would use violence against you and you have been a mirror
into their own souls. Your courage has turned hearts and will haunt those who
have committed shameful acts against you.
I am
sure the corporation will do all it can to ensure the pipeline continues
despite the declaration by the State not to approve the easement. The
corporation may even turn on the Government since they expect full compliance
from politicians to grease the tracks for them. What happens next could make
all the difference. It’s likely Government officials are looking for every way
possible not to upset the company. You have shaken the foundations of their
towers! They now know how dangerous you are and they will likely retaliate and
lash out in their desperation. Do not lose hope! Be brave! God bless you. We
are with you!
(Disclaimer,
I have no credentials or professional expertise in the area of politics or
finance, everything I’ve written is from my naïve perspective as a person
caught between the wheels of a corporatized world. I am just a human watching the
world implode around himself, who has caught a glimpse of something
miraculous!)
