Loss of pride in work ethic is our nation's No.1 killer

The Boston Herald

August 4, 1991

These things didn't have to happen: a pesticide spill that killed every living thing in California's Sacramento River; a bus crash that took the lives of Girl Scouts; a train derailment that spilled a corrosive chemical onto a California highway; the mass murdersof Jeffrey L. Dahmer; the entire BCCI mess.

Each one of these tragedies was preventable. Each happened solely because someone or a group of someones was not doing his job.

In Redding, Calif., a train derailed July 14, and pesticides poured into the Sacramento River, killing "every living thing in the river." More than 100,000 fish died, and the world's best trout-fishing areas were ruined.

So were the lives of the thousands of men and women who depended upon the fishing industry for their survival. The pesticide didn't stay contained in one place. It drifted 45 miles north to Lake Shasta, California's largest reservoir, and mixed with California's water supply.

Authorities, however, maintain that the drinking water is still safe because the pesticide has been diluted. But you have to wonder about these "authorities," because it's the authorities who are at the root of this country's biggest problems today.

If the derailed train had been traveling at a slower speed, the accident might not have happened. If the chemicals had been transported in cars designed for hazardous waste, the spill definitely would not have happened. It occurred because the tanker car carrying the pesticide fell into the water and burst. And it was the so-called "authorities"' fault because, by law, hazardous wastes are supposed to be transported in double-hulled cars, because these cars, in case of an accident, are less likely to burst.

But metam sodium, though it kills everything in its path, is not on the government's list of hazardous waste and was therefore not treated as such. As a result of this stupid and negligent oversight, a preventable tragedy occurred.

In Palm Springs, Calif., there was another preventable tragedy. A bus carrying a group of Girl Scouts lost its brakes on a winding road and went crashing down a mountain. Buses, by law, are supposed to be maintained and inspected. Do maintained and inspected buses all of a sudden just lose their brakes?

Again in California: Another derailment. This time a corrosive chemical, which causes burns, nerve damage and damage to internal organs, spilled from a freighter train.

A 10-mile stretch of highway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara was closed. Hundreds of people were evacuated. What caused this spill? Authorities say the train carrying the chemical had a broken axle.

And the beat goes on.

In Milwaukee, it was other authorities not doing their job that led directly to the murder of as many as 17 people who did not have to suffer the grisly deaths they did.

Police received citizen complaints about suspected mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer had a record. He was on probation for a conviction of sexual molestation. The police should have investigated the complaints. Dahmer's probation officer should have visited Dahmer's house. But neither did his job.

"There is strong suspicion that the Federal Reserve failed miserably to meet its responsibility to monitor and regulate BCCI's activities in the U.S.," said Henry B. Gonzalez, who heads the Banking Committee. The story is the same. Whether it's train derailments, bus accidents, murder or money, the problem is people not doing their jobs.

The consequences of this are everywhere. In the home, in schools, in the workplace, Americans are getting lazy. The work ethic is becoming a thing of the past, the pride in doing a job well is going the way of good manners.

But the sloppiness isn't just killing us; it's destroying our country as well.