Oil

I just told you how much I hate politics. Dammit. Don't read this if you hate politics like I do.

commence political rant

Bill O'Reilly's radio show comes on right after the Junkies, so I occasionally end up listening to it. I like the show because I usually agree with his views. I hate the show because I usually agree with his views. Today he said something that made so much sense to me, and pissed me off so much. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like:

We have the technology in this country to develop and implement alternative fuel sources. We should find something else, so that we don't have to be dependent on Middle East oil. Drilling in the Arctic would just be a band-aid. We need to find a solution. We'd clean up the environment and we could get out of the Middle East. But its not happening because the big oil companies are making too much money to invest in other energy sources, and the automotive industry doesn't want to change.

I realized that making such a drastic shift in the way our country runs day-to-day requires strong, focused leadership. Someone who can say, "We have to change. Here's why, and this is how. It won't be easy, but we'll all be better off." The problem is that political leaders, or any people for that matter, rarely have much incentive to look at the big picture. Huge changes cause discomfort, controversy, and resentment, even if they are in everyone's long term best interests.

Our leaders are already wealthy and successful - why compromise that in the short-term? Lets just keep everyone happy now and not risk upsetting them by asking them to make sacrifices. It takes a leader with a unique combination of foresight and not giving a damn what anyone else thinks to really make big changes, and the Teddy Roosevelts and Winston Churchills of the world are few and far between.

So we just stick to the way we've always done things, throw a few token dollars at researching a change but don't really do anything, and hope nothing fucks up our day. We'll probably be fine, right? And if we're not, they can't really blame us, can they?

That's what New Orleans was doing by not building a better disaster infrastructure. Now they're gone. Whose fault was it? IT WAS EVERYONE'S FAULT! YOU LIVED IN A CITY THAT IS BELOW SEA LEVEL, SITTING IN A HURRICANE ZONE, WITH SHITTY BARRIERS HOLDING BACK A HUGE LAKE. WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? You can't just blame the government, although they certainly should have done more. In the end, people have to take responsibility for themselves.

O'Reilly's thoughts about oil are absolutely right, and hopefully the $4 gallons of gas will finally force the common people to do something, since the leaders aren't really doing anything. Obviously, the leaders should do something, if they are looking out for our best interests. The Middle East is an insane place, full of people who hate us. If we have an opportunity to just get the hell out of there and stop pumping dollars into their economy we should take it. That whole region is such a political mess, so you'd think they'd want to get out.

But our leaders aren't doing anything, since they care much more about appearing to act in our best interests than they care about actually acting in our best interests. So we should do it ourselves. Maybe we'll stop buying huge SUVs. Maybe we'll carpool more and take public transportation. I'm planning to drive slower than I used to, which saves gas (and is safer for that matter). I'll combine my errands instead of making multiple trips. Next time I buy a car, I'll give serious consideration to buying a gas/electric hybrid.

Our political leaders aren't going to change things for us. Big oil companies won't lower their prices if we keep buying their products. The beauty of capitalism is that if the markets demand a product, someone will find a way to supply it. So if we demand alternatives to oil, eventually we'll get that too.

Or we can keep guzzling gas, ravage our environment, and eventually all get killed by Middle East terrorists or natural disasters. I'll probably be dead before that happens, so its not my problem, right?

end political rant

Dammit. Now I need to go play a video game or get drunk, or whatever will kill all the braincells that hurt from just thinking about how dumb we all are. Ooooh maybe I'll get drunk while playing a video game. Actually I'll save time and just smash my head through a wall.