I’ll put MY foot up your ass….

Due to rising gas prices, media outlets have been running stories about how everyone is waking up to the “energy crisis” and trying to get rid of their gas guzzlers. NPR recently ran a story about the guy who stands on the corner, trying to sell his SUV but not getting any buyers. Another story said “the only people buying full-size trucks and SUVs now are the ones who really need them.”

Did anyone not see this coming? Apparently not John Wolkonowicz, a senior automotive analyst. A few years ago, as a freshman in college and not all that concerned with the media, politics or the world outside myself, I remember thinking how incredibly stupid it was that people were continuing to buy new and more consuming SUVs as the country was about to invade Iraq. Concerns about the environment and nonrenewable energy were emerging, yet a majority of Americans just kept on consuming, fueled by a desire to look “rugged” or “awesome” in their brand new H2s.

Now, according to the New York Times

The slide in the labor market has become both symptom and cause of a weak economy, pulling many families into a downward spiral. Back when housing prices were still rising, Americans borrowed exuberantly against the value of their homes to finance renovations, vacations and shopping sprees. But that artery of finance has constricted considerably along with access to credit cards, forcing a reversion to the traditional limits of household finance. Millions of American families must now confine their spending to what they can bring home from work.

I’m always amazed at the ability of the media to dispel incredibly obvious information and the American public’s lack of ability to pick up on subtle nuances and just buy what they want when they want it. Shouldn’t people be living within their means anyway? I remember listening to residents of Long Island complain about how their property taxes were too high and how hard it was to live there. They and a lot of other people feel they have an inalienable right to live right where they want, regardless of whether or not they can afford to be there.

We are a country of spoiled brats who failed to see that by consuming (financially, environmentally, etc.) more than we were earning or producing, we landed ourselves in an economic crisis. We leave our waste for the maid, in the form of a concerned citizens’ environmental group, to clean up and whine when they make us pay for it.

While I may not be a fan of President Bush, it isn’t just him that got us into this mess. Sure, he could have made the unpopular decision to let us know to curb our spending in times of war (there was rationing in WWII afterall), but after the political implications of Vietnam, changing the average American’s way of life makes wars or “conflicts” unpopular. 

But we ourselves need to shoulder the blame for ignoring the signs. Now, we need someone to slap us in the face with tough love and tell us what kind of people we are and I’m wondering if anyone out there is willing to do it, especially because it is so potentially politically damaging. In the best case scenario, the politician who does this will be seen as a hero who made the difficult decision to yell at us, but that isn’t likely. We don’t want to be told when we are wrong, or that our culture is fundamentally destroying itself.

The New York Times and NPR have been doing a great job in covering the current recession and usually provide great analysis of the current political climate. I’m also glad that I live in a city where there are hybrid buses and the city just added more routes and vehicles to the public transportation fleet. 

Unfortunately, most of the people I rail against aren’t those who follow the “grey lady” of New York or the unsensationalized stories of public radio. Instead, they focus on exclamating titles and dramatic graphics that tell us more oil will fix us. No one wants to come out and say rising gas prices are just the karmic consequence of unbridled petroleum consumption, even if it is reducing traffic congestion and subsequently pollution. Go figure. Maybe 4 bucks for a gallon is a good enough kick in the ass.