We Are to be Chastised

It is a dangerous thing to be the black sheep in the family. Some members of families just don't fit in. Whether in a family or a company, there are individuals that just seem to always go their own way. There is something in their psyche that makes them contrary, needing to push away from the rhythms that most people follow. They are outriders, following their own version of the truth, their own path to the future.

Reactions to the black sheep by those safely within the flock range from bemused tolerance to avoidance to indignant confrontation; that confrontation usually being handled by those keepers of the family tradition, the elderly aunts. But that is in normal times. When disaster strikes, the gods must be appeased.

There is in the human being, and in the societies that he creates, a realization, an understanding deep in his heart, that there is a power greater than himself. Most of the time we are able to ignore this if we so choose. Going to church on Christmas or pledging solidarity when a celebrity champions the cause of world peace on an awards show allows us to keep this knowledge hidden from ourselves. But then disaster strikes. We come face to face with our own powerlessness and it scares us. And when we are frightened, we lose the civilized part of our consciousness. We fear and we will act on that fear. If disaster strikes, it must be because we have angered the gods. In common with our ancestors who gathered around smoky fires in dark caves, we look for a sacrifice that will satisfy the rage of that which is greater than us.

If the gods are angry, it must be because someone among us has angered them. Which brings us to the black sheep. The meltdown of our economy is a disaster in search of scapegoats. While bankers and financiers have come in for their share of public anger, they have not been black sheep. They have just been greedy, but we understand that, we are all familiar with greed. If that makes the gods angry, then we are all in trouble. Damp that thought before it gets too far.

But the oil and gas business is another matter. We drill into Mother Earth and scar her with our pipelines. We cause the air to be contaminated with carbon dioxide. We use chemistry, mathematics and other black arts. No one understands what we do or how we do it. And we have been making way too much money over the past couple of years. Surely we are the reason that the gods have made flipping houses unprofitable. We are the black sheep. And the others around the fire are looking at us and their hands are searching for their clubs.

Like the black sheep who have gone before us when sacrifices needed to be made, we are about to be chastised. Henry Waxman has replaced John Dingell as Chairman of the Energy Committee. Carol Browner is the "czar" for energy policy in the new administration. Stephen Chu is head of the Energy Department. Ken Salazar is head of the Interior Department. The oil and gas industry looks around for a friendly face and sees only executioners.

It is dangerous thing to be the black sheep when there is fear in the cave.