HOME
Message Board
CURRENT COLUMNS
- Editor's Corner
- Blogfest 2005
- Commentary
- Commentary Too
- Down The Middle
- Faulking Around
- Global Warning
- This guy walks into a bar...
- Investing 101
- Faulking Opinions
- Off The Rail
- Words
ARCHIVES
LINKS
CONTACT US
 | |||
Global Warning - Aug 5, 2008 - Printable Version
- Follow the Yellow Brick Road
by Robin Buckallew
This week, the Democrats, in their role as the eternal Faust, once again compromised principle in the ever-more ridiculous hope that this will somehow lead to like-minded compromise on the part of the right wing rogues. The Democrat in question? Barack Obama. The noble minded principle that has been discarded? No offshore drilling. The reason? Because somehow by this means, by increasing the amount of oil on the market and driving down gas prices, we will somehow reach that elusive pie-in-the-sky dream of fuel efficient vehicles and alternative energy sources. Years ago, I would have remained quietly skeptical, while publicly “giving it a chance”. Today, many “I told you so’s” later, I feel I have earned the right to hoot loudly in total cynicism. Once more, we’re off to see the wizard, where we will be issued our green glasses so we can see the Emerald City as they wish us to see it, not as it really is. Once more, we are beguiled by the fearsome specter before us, being urged earnestly to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”. Once more, the smooth-talking faker is pandering to our fondest wishes, giving regards only to what we think we want, and ignoring what we really need. With millions of votes on the line, the wizard has chosen to sweet talk us into compliance, and we are willing to listen. As Toto, in the true wisdom that only a dog could possibly demonstrate, escapes from the rapidly rising hot air balloon, will we once again hear the voice of our beloved wizard floating down, informing us “I don’t know how to land this thing!”? This time, we won’t be able to count on our ruby slippers to take us back out of our dream-turned-nightmare.
Most of you assume it is the idea of offshore drilling I take exception to, and you would be partially right. I hear the whining voices around me, as they moan and cry about the price of gas that has now lurched over $4 a gallon. These voices are urging me to be sensible. After all, how are we going to continue to fill our tanks? How are we going to continue to get to work? How are we going to get to the grocery store, or to Wal-Mart? Whining has never proven particularly effective with me – if you won’t believe my son, just ask my students. I don’t like whining, and I will say to you, sit up and take it like the adult your body suggests you are. In fact, one of my biggest objections to the Obama compromise is the exact reason he is compromising in the first place – the idea that it might bring down the price of gas, so John Q. Public can afford to fill his Suburban, get to work, and still have a little left over to “put food on his family”*. I remain obdurate where the issue of gas prices is concerned. Until gas prices began going up, Americans were snapping up larger and larger automobiles eagerly, and the amount of miles driven were going up and up every year. Finally, with the price of gas edging near to what it was in Europe over a decade ago, Americans are beginning to call for alternative fuel sources, and they are beginning to reduce the amount of miles they drive every day. Many are combining trips, so they no longer run to Wal-Mart several times a week, but keep track of what they need so they can get it all in one trip. They are bicycling, walking, taking the train, or carpooling in greater numbers than ever. While we still have a long way to go, and we’ve made only baby steps, I will protest that any action that brings down the price of gas is, and should be considered, criminally negligent.
Instead of cravenly bowing to pressures to “bring down the price of gas”, Obama should be calling for real measures that will make a real difference, not only in the ability of Americans to meet their needs, but also in the ability of America to regain its commitment to environmental leadership. Instead of giving in to the basest wishes of the electorate, he should be patiently educating the public on the need for greater commitment to conservation and cooperation for the greater public good. He should review the fireside chats of the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt if he needs inspiration. During World War II, FDR was able to rally Americans to the cause of doing something bigger than themselves. They conserved energy, they conserved resources, they reduced, they reused, they recycled. Americans were proud to be generous and self-sacrificing. Those who whined about their own selfish needs or wants were quickly put right by their neighbors, and were reminded that we were all in this together.
Instead of commiserating with your neighbors or co-workers when they tell you their “high gas price” woes, instead of pointing them to the cheapest gas in town, you can make a difference by offering to carpool with them, or offering to help them find ways in which they can reduce their overall mileage, thereby reducing their overall gas usage and saving money. I have met almost no one among my circle that is truly unable to reduce their driving; in fact, almost everyone I know has managed that once impossible feat as the gas prices have crept ever higher. Even in towns which have no public transit available, people are finding innovative ways to get around. Rusty bicycles are being dug out of garages and pressed back into service. People have re-discovered their feet, and found that walking actually does work as an alternative. People are starting to double and triple up in cars, and they are starting to find new and interesting activities to do at home as a family. Amtrak has been enjoying booming business, and Congress has just voted to give them a larger budget than they’ve received in many a year.
Americans in the past have demonstrated that they are capable of accomplishing nearly anything, if they want it badly enough. From Manifest Destiny to the Panama Canal, from a walk on the moon to mapping the human genome, from Alabama to Wyoming, America has left a mark, whether for good or bad. In recent years, the image of America has become one of an arrogant, boastful bully, demanding luxury and ease, and unwilling to stand up and be part of something truly bigger then herself. We have the ability to change all that, and become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. We have the chance to “just say no” to offshore drilling, to opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to reckless drilling, and to fossil fuel foolishness in general. We have the chance to tell Obama to back off his compromise, and stand pat on his principles, standing tall and proud. If we all back him up, and tell him that there are more important things than filling our SUV with cheap gas, he will be able to find the courage and the fortitude to once more say “No, I don’t support offshore drilling. America doesn’t support offshore drilling. America is not going to be addicted anymore”. It’s time we all say, Goodbye, yellow brick road.
Because I believe Barack Obama is genuinely interested in listening to the voice of the American people, and leading this country in a new direction, and because I believe if anyone can impart the spirit of FDR, Obama is the man, I am urging you to contact him and tell him that offshore drilling is not the answer, or even a part of the answer, to the troubles the country currently faces. I am urging you to contact him and tell him you would like him to think outside the box and find innovative solutions to the unprecedented problems we are now facing. New problems can not be solved with the same old solutions.
To contact Obama, you can write him at the following address:
Obama for America
P.O. Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680
Or call his campaign headquarters: (866) 675-2008
Now, more than ever, it is important that you become involved, and work to stop the greedy powers that be from getting their rigs into our offshore waters, before it is too late.
*George W. Bush, linguistic specialist extraordinaire
Voice your opinion on our message board (you don't have to sign up to post).