Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

Why are we stupid? The answer is blowing in the wind

9/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Nearly 60 years ago, Bob Dylan had a hit song that told us “the answer … is blowing in the wind.” 
Anyone contemplating those lyrics Tuesday along the Wasatch Front, with trees and limbs flying through the air, power outages and school closures, might have wondered what the question was, and who could we punish for asking it?
I’m not sure, but here’s one an apparently growing number of Americans ought to be asking: Should I do something stupid that might cause a fire?
If they would take the time to actually ask it, they might not have to wait for a ton of bricks, or perhaps cinders, fall on their heads, first.
I’m guessing few people were asking that question Tuesday as they struggled to remain upright against winds that toyed with 100 mph in some areas, but some of them, at least somewhere in the dusty regions of their subconscious, ought to have been wrestling with it earlier in the week.
Beginning about 9:30 p.m. Monday, my wife began getting texts from her brother, who lives with his family along a mountainside in Springville. He sent pictures showing how close the rapidly growing Ether Hollow Fire was coming to their house.
We assured him his family could come to our house if they needed to evacuate. Already, evacuation orders had been issued for more than 200 homes in nearby Mapleton. Fortunately, early morning rain a few hours later dampened some of the danger.
It wasn’t the first time his house had been threatened, nor was it the first time that danger was caused by someone carelessly discharging firearms into tinder-dry vegetation in the mountains.
Fire officials said this is what caused the Ether Hollow Fire. It also appears to be the source of the William Fire that started Saturday near Santaquin and covered 2,000 acres by Monday evening.
In addition to this, Forest Service officials said they found 14 separate ignition points — signs of arson — that caused a series of fires in the Manti-La Sal National Forest on Saturday.
All of this reminded me of what Gov. Gary Herbert said eight years ago after someone parked a hot car on top of some tall, dry grass in Herriman, starting a fire that consumed four houses before it could be controlled.
“We can meet together and pass law after law,” he said. “But you can’t pass a law that outlaws stupid.”
Lest you feel like packing up and moving to another state, this isn’t a condition unique to Utah.
In California right now, 21,000 people have been evacuated because of the El Dorado Fire east of Los Angeles. It was caused by an enterprising young couple who decided to film a gender-reveal video using an explosive device near dry grass. 
If the smoke from the bomb was blue, the world would know the couple’s unborn baby was a boy. If pink, it was a girl. If everything around it started on fire, they would know it was panic time, as the couple desperately tried to use water bottles to douse the flames while they dialed 911.
Youtube is full of these gender-reveal stunts. In one, a young man smirks as he tells the camera, “We decided there’s no better way to find out if it’s going to be a boy or a girl, than to blow something up.”
No better way? How about a simple post on Facebook?
In rural Iowa last year, the Washington Post reported, a young couple accidentally killed their unborn baby’s grandmother by detonating an explosive device. In Texas last September, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report, a pilot trying to dump colored water to reveal a baby’s gender flew too slowly and crashed nearby.
The Washington Post this week contacted the originator of the gender-reveal trend, blogger Jenna Myers Karvunidis, who, it should be noted, started it all in 2008 by cutting into a cake that was pink inside. Now, she regrets it all and has a simple message: “Stop having these stupid parties.” 
I would add, stop target shooting in the wild during dry, hot summers. Stop playing with fire. Stop, well, being stupid. 
A couple of years ago, researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Earth Lab studied fire data over a 20-year period and found that 84% of all wildfires were caused by humans,
I’m not sure what answer Bob Dylan thought was blowing in the wind, but he might have wondered how many fires must a man light up, before he will learn to be smart?
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.