well, that was interesting ... all sorts of responses on
my gas rationing thread ... i thought it might be worth taking a little time to make a few observations ...
most importantly, and i'll get back to this, the thread opened with a discussion about the RISK TO ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET FROM GLOBAL WARMING ...
the more absurd responses talked about how gas rationing would make it inconvenient to go visit grandma ... you want to see inconvenience? wait until it's over a hundred degrees everyday and you can't use air conditioning ... driving around in SUV's and producing CO2 might just be killing your grandma ... old folks won't do well in the heat ...
and i also observed what may be a very ugly truth in our big tent: it appears we have not done a very good job teaching some of our spoiled little children the idea that sometimes they need to subjugate their own personal comfort for the common good ... some responded with an arrogant libertarian view of "i'm a Democrat because they don't try to take away my 'personal freedoms'" ...
well, Mr. Libertarian, here are a few words on that subject: liberalism is NOT libertarianism ... liberalism believes in using government and making regulations in the best interests of society ... you are conflating such personal freedoms as your right to free speech, your right to not have your government spy on you and your right to vote, with your misguided belief that you have a right to drive a car as much as you would like even if it threatens life on the planet ... as someone once said, your right to swing your fist around ends at my nose ... or, own all the stones you want but you have no right to throw them at me ... somehow, we have absorbed libertarians into the Democratic Party without giving them a proper definition of our beliefs ... one need not agree at all with gas rationing but to oppose it on the philosophical basis that it "restricts your personal freedom" and this violates the mission of the Democratic Party is pure pablum ...
next, there were those who raised VERY LEGITIMATE concerns about gas rationing ... they cited a miserable lack of QUALITY MASS TRANSIT; they talked about having no real alternative to the auto to do their jobs or provide critical medical care for patients who can't leave their homes ... these are very legitimate issues that need to be addressed ...
the most significant obstacle to reducing auto use (and emissions) is the terrible state of mass transit in the US ... while this no doubt varies widely by geographic location, it's clear there has been a very directed effort to wage war AGAINST mass transit in most areas of the country ... this cannot continue ... hear these words: until we can mass market cars that do not burn fossil fuels, we are going to have to make radical reductions in the amount we drive ... THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE ... life on the planet is at risk ... obviously, we should accommodate necessary driving as much as we can but we also should do all we can to minimize it ... we cannot continue putting CO2 into the air at our current rates ...
some suggested either letting higher gas prices knock down the amount we drive or putting very high taxes on gasoline above some number of gallons per year per individual ... either of these methods would certainly help reduce the pollution from cars ... i don't like either of these methods, however ...
it seems to me that each and every citizen should have an EQUAL RESPONSIBILITY to reduce CO2 emissions and that those with more money should not be given "special treatment" just because they can afford to pay more ... these "make gas more expensive by taxing it" proposals seem to me to be no different than letting the wealthy bribe people at the draft boards so their children don't have to fight in a war ... if we're in a war (like a war against global warming), fighting it should be EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY ... no one should be able to "buy their way out of these proceedings" ...
and finally, global warming ... the discussion question in my thread specifically asked about rationing ... but it asked the question IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL WARMING ... too many people got so emotional about someone "prying their steering wheel from their cold dead fingers" (they made it sound like a second amendment argument) that they never addressed the CONTEXT of the thread at all ... "i'll be damned if you're going to impose your fascist gas rationing on me" ... fine ... what's your solution to global warming????? if you don't like one solution, it just might be a good idea to propose your own ...
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