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Congressman, heal thyself!
Letter to the Editor generic

Like many coastal Georgians, I was disturbed to learn that our Congressional representative, Buddy Carter, has reversed his position on offshore drilling along our coast. After saying he would conform with a position taken by the General Assembly in an official resolution opposing it, Carter then contradicted that promise by casting votes supporting the environmentally hazardous process.

Surely Rep. Carter would not knowingly betray his constituents by defying their clearly stated desire to protect Georgia’s ocean shores, tourism, quality-of-life and fisheries from the destruction of oil spills. Not everyone necessarily believes that Carter was swayed by his party’s obligations to the politically powerful fossil-fuel industry.

Perhaps our congressman is suffering from a mental ailment similar to the increasingly common ‘bi-polar’ disorder. That would explain both Carter’s reversal on the offshore drilling issue as well as other blatantly irrational behavior.

Consider Rep. Carter’s membership on the esteemed House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. While that crisis is known to be caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, Carter continues to state his conviction that all energy options “should be on the table.” Clearly, if his mind was not afflicted, Carter wouldn’t support expanding petroleum use, recognizing its destructive link to climate disruption.

Rather than castigating our congressman for betraying his coastal constituents by taking positions that will harm them, perhaps we should empathize with him for suffering mental trauma, evidently caused by the stresses of Washington. Accordingly, we should encourage Carter to seek professional evaluation of his apparent psychological disorder.

 

~ David Kyler, Center for a Sustainable Coast 

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