A Sign of Our Times

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Sometimes a metaphor is too perfect to pass up…and an apt sign of our times.

Because at times, a smaller event in another realm can tell us about ourselves in a larger context...

And become as much of a guide post of what has happened and where we find ourselves, as much as it is a tragedy in and of itself.

The capsizing of the cruise ship Costa Concordia along the rocky Italian coast is one such event…

Because it is a tragic and strangely instructive metaphor for our time.

The details of the wreck—its cause and its aftermath--ring familiar, ironic, and ultimately, very sad.

This is not only because the shipwreck was preventable tragedy—which it was…

But also because of the vile and selfish behavior by the Captain himself—and his crew--that made a bad situation even worse.

The details of that maritime event shadow another horrible event…

The shipwreck of Italian finances…

And the euro’s imminent collapse upon the rocks of financial reality.

A Trust Betrayed

Both the wreck of the Costa Concordia and the collapse of the euro took place because those in charge…

Those trusted with the power and insight to chart the right course did not live up to their responsibilities.

Those trained to steer clear of the many dangers present in both financial and coastal seas…

Chose to ignore the charts that clearly showed where dangers lay…

And instead, steered their respective ships toward the well-known dangers for god-knows-why.

Both the captains of Italy’s fiscal ship and of the Costa Concordia showed a true disregard for the rules set in place for the safety of their respective vessels and all who were carried by them…

And all who relied upon them to make the right decisions.

In the case of the Concordia, the Captain was said to be having a drink or two in the ship’s bar when he should have been at the helm, overseeing their course.

Another report has the Captain ordering the ship closer to shore, closer to the rocks…

To show off to a friend on shore.

The term showboating comes to mind…

And it proved deadly to the passengers and ultimately destructive to the ship under his care.

But is the captain of Italy’s fiscal policy any less to blame for Italy’s financial collapse?

Italian fiscal policy was no less careless and damaging…and fatal.

In the wrecking of the Concordia on the rocks of the Tuscany Coast…

People died.

On the rocks of financial collapse, the political voice of the Italian people—also known as democracy—died.

As it has also done so in Greece.

Unwise fiscal choices have led the Italian government to the rocky shallows of destruction and ruin…

And come to think of it…

You could actually expand the metaphor beyond Italy…

You could just as easily say that since the debut of the euro, most of Western Europe has been on a pleasure cruise….

Certainly the PIIGS nations of the eurozone have.

Paying high civil service salaries, early retirements, shorter work weeks, bloated levels of government workers producing nothing…

Living on borrowed money…And borrowed time.

Doesn’t that seem a lot like the Captain of the Concordia?

Wasn’t he taking it easy, knocking a few back in the bar after he ordered the ship dangerously close to shore?

The captains of the good ship euro are just as liable as the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia …

And now both the euro and the Costa Concordia are both hulking wrecks, ripped apart by the actions of those in charge of steering clear of the known dangers…

Every Man For Himself

But what makes the metaphor more apt, and therefore worse, is the behavior of those in charge after the wreck of the Concordia had occurred…

Just like the behavior of Italian and EU authorities after Italian finances had foundered on unyielding shoals of debt and insolvency.

In the case of the Concordia, reports tell us that the crew did nothing to help the passengers once the ship ran aground.

No help with life vests, no assistance with the life boats.

In fact, although the shipwreck happened at 9:45 p.m., the Captain and crew had left the ship at about 12:30 a.m.

Folks had to jump in the water to save themselves…

And many did not get off the ship until 6 a.m.

The “Captain” left the ship and left those in his charge to fend for themselves…

Leaving chaos, death, and destruction in his wake.

And when you think about it, isn’t that what is occurring in the eurozone?

The euro financial captains have let the euro vessel crash onto the rocks and capsize, and left millions of people in Italy and Greece to fend for themselves under the darkened skies of austerity and uncertainty…

No guidance, no helping with the basics of survival…

The million have been abandoned by their leaders, to deal with austerity and authoritarianism at the hands of distant captains, already safely ashore…

While those left behind struggle to survive amid chaos, ruin, and uncertainty…

As both the Concordia and the future of the eurozone take on more water and teeter on a ledge, they both face a plunge into even deeper waters.

So what has happened to the responsible parties?

In the Captain of the Concordia, he is now in custody for manslaughter and abandoning ship.

But what of the Captains of the euro?

What punishment shall those who destroyed the euro get?

Where are their just desserts?

Well, that is where the metaphor ends and political reality begins...

Which is another sad and warning sign of our times.

For the truth is, theirs will be a different justice…if there will be any justice at all.

And those are…The Gorrie Details.

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