When you post a blog, HuffPost has you decide which "tab" or vertical is most applicable to the subject matter. What a conundrum! Most of life (especially mine) and is prone to overlap.
This weekend, I had my little nephews (Jonah, age 5 and Micah, age 2) visiting me. My own children are teenagers now, so I was reminded of many of the small but important lessons in raising children with values.
I awoke on Sunday morning and read the blogs from Alec Baldwin to Kerry Kennedy regarding BP and its oil spill. They were all informative and thoughtfully written. However as a mother, one thought came to mind: if you make a mess, you have to clean it up.
Where is BP's mother? Why does it have to be told what to do? BP made a big mess in the Gulf and as many of us suspect we are not even aware of the scope, magnitude or long-term impact of such a spill.
It cannot "play" until the mess it made is cleaned up. BP must work to clean-up the Gulf, until it is just like they left it, or they cannot play there anymore. Its simple. Put everything back just as you left it so that others can come and play. This applies to blocks, Legos and the Gulf of Mexico. My little nephews know this already, since they were taught by their mother. Who is BP's mother and where is the oversight? Barck Obama's remarks remind me of the old cliche threat, "Wait until your father gets home!"
BP cannot be permitted to do what it has done and assert child-like excuses to avoid liability: "Its all my brother's fault" , "I am finished cleaning and i did my best"; "I can't do it myself"; "I didn't do it on purpose"; etc., and on and on.... Instead, they need a "time-out" to think about what they have done, why they are sorry and make certain to NEVER do it again. As with children, grievous mistakes must have the appropriate and serious consequences. In this case, BP shouldn't be allowed to leave its room -- the Gulf, play with its toys (oil rigs), or its friends (shareholders) until it has sufficiently learned its lesson and made things right. Now someone or somebody has to step in and be BP's mother.
All I know is that it is not me ... I am too exhausted from my own kids ...