Oil has become a religion
It seems the value of oil has far surpassed that of gold and it becomes increasingly more difficult not to join the doomsday generation as I see gas prices soaring to levels that are exponentially greater than they were just a couple of years ago. And if only it were gas prices that change…….wages decrease, job availability decreases, the price of milk increases and the economy as a whole stalls.
If only I had hope that any of these fine specimens of Presendential Candidates were going to be anything other than a waste of our time, I might be less concerned. But, no….I’m concerned. We’re entering a crisis unlike any we’ve ever experienced before. And with a continual escalation in prices, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere in sight. I can see the effects in the nightly news. Acts of violence committed out of pure desperation where before, our violence hungry news media thrived on stories of violence that was grounded in pure greed, alpha male showmanship or general disregard for order.
And it sends me into fits of intellectual thought and introspection. I mean, we are supposed to be an advanced race of people……intelligent enough to overcome our physical inferiorities and to create a world of technological and philosophical advancement. Yet we seem to continually chase ideals that have ramifications that we tend to ignore. Lost is the concept that a healthy economy is driven by the small business……localized economies that feed each other and are focused in direction by individualism and a complete lack of the collective mentality that dilutes and stifles corporate America. Yet we still seem to cling to the idea that government can rule and regulate a healthy economy, regardless of how archaic and false this notion is. Seriously……we regulate business with the mindset that said regulation will tear down the fabric of a Corporate economy, when in reality, the Corporate entities are the only ones who can afford to keep pace with regulated business practices.
I am reluctant to call myself a Republican, because I do not want to be classified amongst the neo-Republican dirt that has scarred the surface of what Republicanism ever was or ever meant. Yet in all reality, I am a classical Republican. A Madisonian Republican. A true believer in “Laissez Faire” Capitalism and a free and open market economy. Where did this economy go?
And yet I sit here hopeful that our government will intervene into our current gas crisis. My greatest fear has become my only hope and I think that bothers me more than anything. I do not want, nor do I condone, government interference. Yet, it seems that government interference, in the short term, at the very least, is the only way to stop the bleeding.
I’ve even lent credibility to the argument that gas prices remained well below the rate of inflation for quite some time. I fielded that argument and accepted it as reality until we surpassed the two and a half dollar mark. We are so far removed from that point that my sixty-seven dollar tank of gas makes my ass pucker a bit. Seriously. I cringe at the pump.
I’m at a point where I’m almost ready to take action. Problem is, each of us as individuals within this crisis economy are fairly helpless to change much of anything. And yet the pumps in Texas keep churning up oil for us to store away or, better yet, send to Iraq to save our military the expense of paying Middle East prices for oil.
If anyone at all has a viable and realistic action plan on this, I’m all ears, because I really can’t stand the thought that we might be facing a crisis that will have lasting effects for the remainder of our lives. Again, I’m trying not to join the doomsday generation, but my spoiled American ass has some concerns……..