Our new president has stirred up a hornet’s nest by declaring that we no longer have a Gulf of Mexico. From now on, all government references will be to the Gulf of America. I grew up along the gulf coast, spending just about every summer there that I can remember. From Gulf Shores, Alabama to Perdido Key Florida. Passing away more hours than I can remember water skiing, fishing and, as Jimmy Buffett would sing, “wasting away” days on my used Sea-Doo sports boat. I drove that boat for 40 years until it landed in a treetop blown away by hurricane Katrina. And when I went to the coast, often for many weekends in a row, we didn’t say we were going to the Gulf of Mexico. Just to the Gulf. No one thought of dismissing Mexico’s name until Trump came along.
So then I got the thinking. The name of Mexico is not relevant to our part of this vast body of water. So maybe the President is right. A name change might be in order. But why America? The Gulf Coast is unique to our part of the nation. The fishing, the beaches, the oil and gas production, the boating with vessels, big and small, the uniqueness of the location of the Mississippi river, all these combined reflect a way of life that cannot be found anywhere else in America. And the center of these many economic and recreational qualities is found in Louisiana.
Let’s start with fishing. Many diehard sports fisherman claim that Venice, Louisiana, at the bottom tip of the Mississippi river, is the sports fishing capital of the world when it comes to catching giant tuna, marlin, wahoo, mahi-mahi and other prized offshore fish species. I’ve traveled the world, and no fish is more tasty than the Bayou state’s red fish, black drum, speckled trout or flounder. Come to the Louisiana shoreline to find oysters, shrimp, and crawfish. How can there be any better place on earth as concentrated for delicious seafood?
How about the cruise lines that regularly travel in and out of New Orleans? Yes, there are cruise lines to other ports along the Gulf Coast. But where would you like to start and end your trip? Can any other port beat New Orleans?
Oil and gas is produced along the Gulf Coast. And within its state boundaries, the largest producer is the state of Texas. But when it comes to drilling offshore, Louisiana dominates production within several hundred miles of our coastline. Some of the largest drilling platforms that can be found anywhere in the world can be found off the Louisiana coast.
So just what am I suggesting here? Mexico is not relevant to our part of the coastline. And the recreational and economic engine that produces jobs, huge income for the entire country, and vast recreational activities are heavily concentrated in Louisiana. America receives bountiful benefits. So to keep it in the family, if the name of the gulf is going to be changed, what better way to honor that part of the country that gives so much back, here’s what we should do. Call it the Gulf of Louisiana.
The President’s suggested name change has significant opposition. For example, just last week, the Jefferson Parish Council strongly opposed a resolution to require all maps to change the gulf’s name from Mexico to America. And even though the council is overwhelmingly republican, the resolution failed on a 6 to 1 vote. “Keep national partisan politics out of the council”, said local members.
So since many feel that the name change will be looked on as part of the Mega agenda, the nation needs an alternative. No recognition of Mexico, yet acknowledging that the nation receives plentiful benefits from a certain part of our country. And where is that? It’s the coast that borders the deepest of the deep southern states, the coast that borders Cajun and redneck county, the state that dead centers the Gulf Coast. It’s the Gulf of Louisiana. That’s what we should call it. So what do you think about that? Am I on to something?
Peace and Justice Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www. jimbrownusa.com.
