Guzzle Gas, and Pretend - Boston Globe

[dweller]

Gasoline is over $2.50 a gallon, the death toll of American soldiers in Iraq is over 1,850, and what patriotic, heroic
displays of sacrifice can we find on the American landscape?

Bigger garages. Bigger houses. New fuel economy standards that will omit the biggest cars. Hoo-aah.

Brave Marines we are. From the halls of McMansions to the steps of our SUVs, we fight our exurban battles, ripping
up every living tree.

Next month will mark four years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Four years is a time period often associated
with sending children off to institutions of higher learning in the assumption they will become members of an
enlightened citizenry.

But the four years since 9/11 have come and gone with no sign that the United States sees the light. As soldiers
pay the ultimate price in Afghanistan and Iraq, we continue to be toy soldiers, the invulnerable warriors of
consumption. No report of a real soldier dying from a roadside bomb, no administration assertion that fades into
falsehood, not even fill-ups that hit $40 and $50 a tank has spurred us to question our schizophrenic nature.

For four years, Americans have waved flags and stuck ''Support the Troops" magnets on the backs of their cars.
Such acts, of course, stem from sincere sentiments we all share for their safety. But we can no longer escape our
responsibility in one of the most insincere wars in the nation's history.

posted at: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0817-22.htm

dp

[fortyfeetunder]

1. It won't take much soon to not see the light

Once we get into a big-a$$ energy crisis, we'll be in the dark for sure!

[BeyondGeography]

2. Superb

We are living in an absurd nation; somewhere along the line we became the most spoiled children in the history of the world. Maybe we can sidestep the problem by selling everyone on all the money there is to be made in alternative energy and hybrid cars. Pure common sense, as Jackson points out, is sorely lacking.

[dweller]

3. maybe it's time WE turned off the lights

in the WhiteHouse. Let his *moronic excellancy pay his own bills.

until a time when we have a real President that supports alternative energy prospects.

dp

[whistle]

4. Seeing the light threshold for most head-in-sand Americans is...

...$3.00 a gallon and rising. Those with large SUVs that get just 11mpg will experience at the pump sticker shock when they shell out some $90.00 per tank full twice a week. Ohoooooo will the light shine then!!!!! Especially when they believe shit-head* that the economy was turning the corner and that they should spend their 2003 income tax reduction on a down payment for that new SUV.:popcorn: :patriot: