Through the Spyglass: Pirates for Water
In 2006, the United States Pirate Party broke onto the scene as the second Pirate Party to form in the world, and the first to do so outside of Europe.
Like the first Pirate Party, we followed the calls for copyright reform and patent abolition. We called for free culture and an open society. Free and open has been the way from the beginning.
After all, sharing is caring.
The reason for bringing this up is two fold:
- To show that, since the beginning, Pirates have fought for the commons; the shared aspects of our culture and society.
- To reiterate that commitment.
When you think about “pirates”, a couple things come to mind: treasure, peg legs, eye patches, ships and swashbuckling spirits.
But like how you walk everyday and almost never think about the ground, it is “water” that you should be associating with Pirates.
Yesterday, as of the publishing of this article, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot limit sewage discharge into water. This leaves the door open for cities to dump even more sewage into bodies of water.
Effectively, they are trying to make clean water a luxury.
The ruling spurred immediate, visceral responses from members of the Pirate National Committee.
“Clean water is a requirement for a healthy life and is a right for everyone in the US and the world.
“The Supreme Court members who voted to allow corporations to poison our waterways must be removed from office.”
“Water is a shared common/resource.”
“We should be able to all access one of the most vital resources we have.”
“They are trying to create more [of Chicago’s] Lake Calumets”
One of the biggest tragedies in the world is the fact that people do not have access to clean drinking water. Those without profit constantly on the brain may struggle to tell you why this is a good thing.
But make no mistake about it: this was a ruling made with profit in mind.
Rarely does the board find unequivocal support over something that isn’t expressly Pirate advocated. The ideological diversity and shared commitments to our common goals is what makes us special.
The commons have always been expressly Pirate advocated. The United States Pirate Party has called out corporate influence and greed since our origins.
This, the green light to pollute our water further, is a step too far for many of us.
Pirates are now and always have been for clean seas and water.
This cannot stand as simply “one of the many bad things this Supreme Court did”. This cannot simply be a footnote.
The United States Pirate Party, in remaining true to our commitment to protecting and advocating for the commons, say it expressly:
We will be the voices of clean water and water rights
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