Brutally Honest Rant - 10/17/07

Brutally Honest Audio Rant: The Worst Fears – Part 3
Audio Transcripts
10/17/07

[Start Program]

(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – “American Idiot Remix” – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)

Good evening and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.

We’re continuing our month-long look at The Worst Fears, since this is the month of October, the time of ghost stories and things that scare the crap out of people.

Well this next one will hit close to home. This is something that people haven’t really thought about until recently. Sure it was mentioned, but nobody REALLY took it to the next level… at least until tonight.

And let’s get brutally honest here… this particular “Worst Fear” isn’t some FAR-future story… but rather it is a closer-than-you-damn-well-THINK story!

So here we go…

(Lead-in music – “Heavy Price Paid” by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori)

The roads were clear.

For the first time in countless years, there was absolutely NO traffic jams at the peak hours of travel.

Miles upon miles of asphalt and concrete, designed to handle THOUSANDS of cars every day, going virtually unused. Countless billions of dollars wasted. Oh they’re still used, but not frequently enough to justify maintaining them.

They tried to close the roads once, but it didn’t matter. They were still paved, so the few who remained would still use them, even with the cracks and the potholes and the streetlights that no longer worked.

The roads took people to exits that resembled huge ghost-towns. Abandoned buildings, closed-down businesses, standing side-by-side with unfinished construction projects. Open homes essentially free for anyone living who would want them, as long as they could tolerate the animals, the insects, and the lack of utilities.

The ground was a sickening combination of yellow and brown with the occasional tall patches of weeds. It was, in fact, one of the first victims of the crisis. Where once the ground was carefully maintained and trimmed, it has since died. It was almost an act of rebellion against its former lords and masters. Everyplace that was once obsessively made to look beautiful became ugly and putrid.

There are still enclaves of civilization here. The few people that still remain struggle to keep what little they have, and with very meager resources available. These enclaves used to be small towns before they were assimilated into the larger metropolitan community. Now necessity is forcing them to be even smaller towns all over again, having to rely on themselves and very little else. All of the mega-stores and super-stores that promised to be their new “best friends” during greener days had already forsaken them and moved out. The only people left are the ones who are too old or too stubborn to leave.

Going into the main city itself, you see slightly larger communities, but those are further dwarfed by the towering structures of metal and glass that stand empty and abandoned. Law firms, accounting companies, banks, and corporate headquarters once inhabited these towers. Now only the insects, animals, and human parasites dwell in them. Their occupants had long since abandoned the area when the needed and promised resources were cut off.

There is still a nightlife of sorts in the main city. The few people who remain still try to make their struggling existence livable. But they certainly couldn’t match the days when the city would light up at night. Nor were there any nightclubs, bars, or restaurants to enjoy. Those things required something that the city was sadly unable to reliably provide. The big stadiums and assembly halls that used to bring the city big dollars in concerts and trade shows and sporting events now only bring in bitter memories of days long past.

City leaders still live here, and they still cling to hope along with a few optimistic souls that things WILL once again right themselves. They just have to be strong and keep things going. Of course that’s harder and harder to do as the time continues to pass and more and more people continue to slowly move away. Hope doesn’t pay the bills. Hope doesn’t keep the lights running or keep the jobs from going away. But they promise to still be there to smugly welcome back all of the businesses and all of the residents who had abandoned them in their great time of need.

Of course this city is also the political center of the state, and every year the state leaders still get together to talk of dreams of resolving the great crisis that killed this once-great city. The crisis that everyone believes can STILL be resolved… simply by talking about it. And while they talk, they also consider possibly moving their great political center to another part of the state. Someplace greener and more vibrant. Someplace where the resources are more plentiful and the economy is much better. After all, who wants to visit a dying city?

Welcome to the worst fear… of the City of Atlanta! A city that is literally KILLED by a lack of water.

Now folks, just a quick word here… our federal government – specifically the Army Corps of Engineers – is MAKING that worst fear a reality. They are intentionally, deliberately, and systematically draining the Chattahoochee River – Atlanta’s water supply – to accommodate some asinine federal law to protect some freshwater seafood that should be served up with butter and washed down with beer and side of cole slaw.

The best estimates give the whole Atlanta area ninety days before the Corps drain Lake Lanier to the point where it can no longer provide water. And the people responsible for making that ultimate decision have not only REFUSED to do something to help the matter, but they have actually announced that they will further AGGRAVATE the situation by pumping out STILL MORE water from the river… simply because they’ve already drained all of the other locations.

So this worst fear isn’t something hypothetical. This could very well BE Atlanta’s future in a few months!

And I’m finding it hard to believe myself, but I’m starting to lean towards those who are calling for an Iraq-style REGIME CHANGE when it comes to the management of the Buford Dam, because OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is heading for another FEMA-size disaster if something is not done about this and done SOON.

It is time for George W. Bush to step up and address this problem. It is time for the Congress to step up and address this problem. It is time for the legal system to step up and address this problem. THIS IS a federal matter, and the federal government NEEDS to deal with this, and deal with it SOON. And if they refuse to, then the people of Georgia WILL, and I promise you, the politicians and the bureaucrats WILL NOT like what happens at that point!

(Computer – something about being “fired’)
(Fade Music In – “Skylight” by Overseer)

There is plenty of gross incompetence and mismanagement when it comes to the State of Georgia’s resources, and this is something that has been going on for several years. You have folks on the federal, state, AND local levels that are guilty of contributing to this problem, and they ALL need to answer to that and be held personally accountable for it.

But when the problem becomes as serious as it is right now, you DO NOT let the problem continue to get worse! And you sure as hell don’t AGGRAVATE the situation and then pull the Nuremburg Defense of only “following orders”. If you’re not going to be part of the solution, fine, but making such dire matters even worse is downright CRIMINAL, and you should be treated accordingly.

(Pause)

Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production; all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!

(Fade out)
(Computer – Ending/“End of Recording”)

[End of program]
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