Spring brought us more rain than usual and now the algae blooms are visible from my back yard on the St. Lucie River.

It seems that the even years (2014, 2016 and now 2018) are our time for outrage. The outrage that gives us the moral courage to stand up for our ecological environment. But, like the waters of the St. Lucie River flowing into the estuary to dissipate in the ocean, our courage to tackle the green algae will too.

This is one more battle that residents and citizens must engage in to protect our environment. In this case, I am not just speaking of environmental issues alone but rather our overall environment. The environment means our rivers and streams as well as our farms and yards and includes addressing chemicals and effluent wastes that contribute to our environmental problems.

Our political leaders manipulate the system to goad us into idiotic disagreements instead of informed debate. False issues are introduced to dissuade the American people from concentrating on what is important. Reality no longer intrudes into our political discourse.

All of this contributes to our deteriorating environment. The green algae that flows past my house is the direct result of the inability of our political institutions to correct the known causes of pollution. This is symbolic of our nation’s dysfunctional society on the federal, state and local levels. We would rather have a nonsensical screaming match on NFL players and the national anthem than true dialogue on problems such as the pollution that invades the St. Lucie River.

How do we right the ship of state? When will we address our political, social and ecological environmental issues with the seriousness they deserve? The United States is now the place of the “reality television show” instead of reality. The “real politic” of Kissinger, Brzezinski and Powell has been cancelled in favor of the “Gong Show.”

In the meantime, the St. Lucie flows green. Our national budget flows red. And the psyche of our United States is the color of confusion and disaray.