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We have all become so complacent with the way things have become in this world, myself included. When things that we don’t like go spiraling out of control, nowadays most of us just throw up our hands and say, “What can we do about it?”
Sure, some get together and take to the streets to show their indignation with the way things are going. Others take a spin on the Internet highway and blog until their fingers fall off. Both are effective to a certain extent, but more times than not it has a minimal effect at changing the situation. We all have the right to free speech living in the greatest country in the world, unfortunately saying it doesn’t always change it.
Boy do I know that. While I have this little soap box that I get on every week to voice my objections to all things big and small, at times I feel like I am just spinning my wheels. This can be disheartening at times especially when I feel the topic is one that needs to be addressed, but I keep doing it.
I signed on for this mission over eight years ago, and as Hunter S. Thompson once put it, “Buy the ticket, take the ride”. Well since I bought that ticket I am still riding the ride and have no intention of getting off any time soon. While I might not be able to change the world, it is always good to get what’s bugging you off of your chest. Trust me when I say it can be cathartic.
The most recent madness that is creating a rough ride for all of us, without exception, is the runaway gas prices. It is tearing its way through all of our pocket books on every level not just when we are filling up at the gas pumps. As we have seen in the past it has crept its way into the grocery stores and other merchandise outlets causing a vicious cycle that can only be stopped, or at least slowed down, by putting the brakes on the lead car in the race.
Even though there have been some who have attempted to send a message to the gas companies, who are behind the wheel of this demolition derby, the majority appear to have already given up. The apathy that is being displayed by most is why should I get behind the pace car when I don’t stand a chance of crossing the finish line?
Earlier this month there was a slight glimmer of hope that somebody was feeling my pain at the pump. That was when, just like Tamra Pica of Car Talk fame, my email inbox was flooded with emails of the great gas boycott of 2007. Sure it was an ancient cry circulating the Internet since its wheels were square, but at least it was a sign that people wanted the prices to stop if not be put in reverse.
The concept was an old one, first used in modern history during the Boston Tea Party. Instead of pouring the gas into the nearest body of water we were asked to not purchase the vital fluid for one day of the week in hopes of hitting the gas companies where they would feel it most, in their bank accounts.
Unfortunately, this potential flat tire for the oil barons of the world didn’t even equate to a bump in the road. To be honest, it was doomed from the start. Why? Because if you needed gas before the day in question arrived you filled up before, and if you needed to fill up the day of, you did so the day after. Any way you look at it they got their money. Just to show my support I held out until a couple of days after, if for no other reason than to say I was at least on the track.
It was a noble try and I applaud the sentiment of those who gave it a run. Despite its flaws, at least it was a movement that was heading in the right direction. I just hope that someone, far smarter than I, comes up with a real way to let the gas companies know that we are not just lying down and letting them run over us. Short of armed insurrection to take over the refineries, I must admit, I am stumped.
Sure the boys and girls in the big houses in D.C. hold meetings to attempt to get to the bottom of our tank of woes. Especially when a holiday is just around the corner and demand is going to rise, but when that holiday passes the problem doesn’t seem so important. It is also difficult to get answers to the hard questions when you have a president who was baptized in oil and you are surrounded by the greasy lobbyists who dangle gas cards in front of them, like a carrot in front of a rabbit.
What I find particularly frustrating is the lack of serious reporting by the television news media. They think nothing of wasting our time about every driving mishap that befalls Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicole Richie with a sense of importance. As if anything those three bimbos do impacts our lives one iota, but when it comes to raising their voices about gas prices they are all but silent.
The best most of them can muster is a little fluff piece asking John Q. Public what he thinks about the gas prices while standing in front of the station’s price board. Or even more irritating, telling me how good we’ve got it because in England they are paying upwards of six dollars a gallon. The last time I checked I wasn’t living in England or anywhere near it. So please quit trying to placate me with that nonsense and show some muscle.
If those spineless curs on TV, who have the true voice of power in this country, would band together, like the people on the Internet did, it would go further towards ending this gas rape than anything they have done on capital hill. If they did some real in depth reporting as to why this is happening maybe, just maybe, the gas bandits would think twice about their next price hike.
I’m open to suggestions, but until those that produce the gas start feeling the heat none of use will ever see the checkered flag.
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