Oiling the wheels of arrogance

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico will not go away. It is an environmental disaster of unimaginable proportions. It has economic impact locally and more widely as share prices tumble, dividends are threatened and pension funds depleted. There are political implications for both President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron.

BP is an easy whipping boy, and may, or may not, have been irresponsible or criminally negligent in search of quick profit. But there are deeper issues.

Our insatiable desire for energy to run our cars and freezers, planes and air conditioners, and pursue a constantly increasing standard of living, forces us to push technology to the limits. And when we push technology to the limits we increase the risk of things going wrong.

But still we believe, convinced that technology will always have an answer and will be the ultimate provider of all our needs.

In the end, whatever we may like to think, we are not invincible. We fall into the same trap as Samson. One success and we believe that we can do anything. Our own wisdom and our own strength become the weapons of choice and technology the preferred deity.

For us, as for Samson, the result of this arrogance is disaster. Determining what divine wisdom might be in the Gulf or on the broader issues around economic growth may not be easy. But at least to acknowledge that there is a divine wisdom and to start the search for it would be a step forward.

For Samson the realisation came too late, but for us…

Meanwhile the World Cup is underway. Perhaps Samson is instructive here too. Physical strength is not all that matters – watch this space for developments.

John Grayston