Posted on 07/16/2008 4:56:46 AM PDT by Amelia
Americans can be good at collective sacrifice. During World War II, they were encouraged to buy war bonds and lived with rationed gas, coal, and foods. During the 1970s oil crisis, they had to slow down to 55 m.p.h. But what about now, when the country faces pricey challenges, from global warming to over-heated healthcare costs?
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
But the cost of energy innovation will demand more than that.
I stopped there. Given the author's apparent viewpoint, I imagine the conclusion is "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
In a free society, with free markets, citizens can make choices and one potential choice could be "to sacrifice". I have no problem with that. But when you bring government into it, and you pass laws and regulations, when you subsidize and you tax, then you can no longer speak of citizens "sacrificing" -- that is no longer what's happening. What's happening then is just theft from the weak in order to carry out the will and desires of the powerful.
The country does indeed face calamity from global warming. But the danger is from those who buy into the cockeyed theory rather than global warming itself. Talk about the worst of all worlds, if global warming doesn't get us, and it certainly is not a certainty, then the response to fear of it will.
Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies!
I’m not so interested in global warming, but I think that reducing our dependence on foreign oil that finances terrorist causes is a great reason to sacrifice....in fact, I’d also think that cutting back on something and buying “war bonds” or whatever so the budget wouldn’t be in such bad shape for our children & grandchildren would be a great idea.
Read Jonah's book Liberal Fascism.
The word “collective” is - to me - the important thing. Had we the real need to sacrifice, we would. However, hearing about the need from folks who couldn’t pass a 1940’s high school test (politicians and journalists), coupled with the “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” syndrome of our sleazy politicos, ....NOPE, I ain’t sacrificin’...and furthermore, I’ll be looking to do damage to those idiots who lie to me and try to get me to sacrifice.
Buy all the war bonds you like -- the government will be happy to spend 110% of your generous contribution. By the way, they will be spending your generous contribution on Global Warming.
Our society would be better off if the citizens told the government to sacrifice and live on less money. Think that will ever happen? No. They want you to live off less money. Why should you? You earn the money. You produce the wealth. The government wants you to sacrifice so that they can go on being profligate.
The fact that so much of what we send overseas finances those who hate us and would just as soon kill us as look at us just adds impetus to get ourselves squared away.
Drilling, and moving in a deliberate manner to transfer the generation of electrical power from carbon based fuels to nuclear, would go a long way toward self-sufficiency. Add to that some wind, hydroelectric and solar power and throw in an honest effort at conservation and we could do a lot to make their oil unnecessary for us and a burden for them.
Somehow we've got to get the word out to make the masses understand just how dire the situation is and that Congress is to blame. Right now I think the majority of the blame falls on the Democrats, but goodness knows we had the White and both houses of Congress long enough to have come up with and implemented an energy policy that works to lessen our dependency on foreign energy.
A pox on both their houses. We gave them what they asked for and all they did was squander it on themselves. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!
I want to see someone come up with what would be a business plan for energy independence. Charts and everything to show how much oil we use and what percentage of that oil is used for what purposes. Then decide how much energy we have to get from other sources in order to enjoy the site of our enemies trying to convert oil to food.
We've spent decades working on converting coal to oil. Let them spend a few decades figuring out to oil to food.
We need to be ruthless. If we have something someone needs and they don't play the game our way then they can find another source for it. Sure, it would wreak havoc with our economy for quite some time, but not nearly as much as having our energy supply disrupted!
I don't think we disagree, but some sacrifices will be necessary in the short term to achieve that goal...I think we should have been asked to make those sacrifices a long time ago.
A pox on both their houses. We gave them what they asked for and all they did was squander it on themselves.
Precisely.
My dad had a philosophy for life that said it you are faced with something inevitable, regardless of how bad it is, you're better off to prepare yourself as well as you can then take the battle to that something. He believed that nothing bad gets better with time, that regardless of size or danger of a situation, you are better off to take it on when you have some control over the terms of the encounter.
I place the WOT and our energy dependence squarely in that category. As bad as the economic effects would be of dealing with Iran RIGHT NOW, it will be worse, much worse if we wait until they have, and God forbid used, a nuclear device against us or Israel.
My favorite cartoon strip of all time “Bloom County” had a short series where Opus is about to jump into the swimming hole when he sees a snake in the water below. One by one the other characters join him on the diving board offering all sorts of suggestions. In the last frame the board has broken in half, and everyone who couldn't make up their mind as to a course of action is in the water with the snake. I have it in a book here and need to make a copy of it for posting when situations like this are discussed.
PS Turns out it wasn't a snake at all, but a discarded battery cable from an old Pinto! Every day we put off dealing with Iraq is one more day they have to further tilt the scales in their favor. Every dollar we spend on energy with countries and regimes that hate us and wish ill will further tilts the scales in their favor. I can't believe that a nation as powerful in every way as America can't find a way to bring about regime change in Iran short of war. Come on, surely we have something or control something they need and can't get or produce on their own!
We seem to agree very much on this. We’ve been putting off energy independence here since at least the 1970s, knowing that it’s a clear and present danger....
The way to "sacrifice" and get rid of dependence on foreign oil is to drill for more of our own. The only sacrifice we need to make is a few hundred Democrat politicians on the alter of elections. There is no sacrifice that Americans can make as idividuals that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil.Want to sacrifice for the economy? Again, sacrifice Democrat and Rino politicians and get them out of office. Cut spending, cut taxes and let free enterprise once again be free in this country and we will see the vast improvement in the economy.
FRD is responsible for much of the crap that is going on in this country. He took a simple depression and made it last at least 8 years longer than it should have. Go back to the free market and get the government out of our business both personal and financial.
Yes, it will demand another Greatest Generation to bring about that innovation. Unfortunately, the author's generation is not it, nor are the coddled generations we're raising today.
Long term, that will certainly help, but I'm not sure we can ever drill enough on our shores to meet our needs, and in the meantime, IMO we don't need to continue financing the Saudis, the Nigerians, Hugo Chavez, etc...YMMV
This would give us more than enough time to actually produce viable alternatives to our oil based energy. We also need to build nukes as fast as we can put them together, we need to dump the EPA, we need to get rid of the oppressive enviro laws that have strangled this country for the last 50 years or so.
Sacrifice? He** no we don't need to sacrifice, we need to put some real conservatives with guts back into office who will do what they know is right. Oh, yes, one more to add to the list, start burning coal, we have new clean technology and we need to use coal instead of natural gas.
I am sorry but I tell you, when someone tells me I have to sacrifice due to political screw ups I see the hammer and sickle hanging over their heads.
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