Life is JUST SO FREAKIN’ UNFAIR!
When I was young, I once asked my Uncle why he kept so many old clothes in his closet (they were just SO out of style). His very wise answer was “if you wait long enough, everything comes back into style, so I save money”. Well, it took me a long time to learn that answer by experience, and he was right (I think I do have some clothes older than the kind owner of this site – and yes, some have come back into style).
Well, something else has “come back into style” and its time cannot pass fast enough. I remember the ’70s (no, not the 1870’s, the 1970’s!). To date myself, I was in high school in the during the first half of that and life was TOUGH! I had just gotten my driver’s license, had worked hard, saved enough money to buy my first car (with a loan from my brother) and thought I had it made!
And right after I got my license, OPEC decided that because we supported Israel during the 1973 war, we didn’t need their oil (rather, they wouldn’t sell it to us). And times were TOUGH! I remember that gas doubled in price ONE WEEK after I got my license (either from 25 to 50 cents, or 35 to 70 cents / gallon). And then I lived the time that I could only fill my tank (10 gallons max?) on the even days of the week. No huge prices hikes after that either as the government clamped down hard. And speed limits dropped to 55 MPH.
What a waste! As with the price controls and the controls on buying, what happened? Long lines and long waits, that’s what. Government forgot that there are tradeoffs with rationing. If it is by price, not everyone can afford it, but it would be available. If with rationing, it is with time (and I remember watching the news from Communist countries of people queueing up in line to buy really cheap groceries – cheap, but only that which the centralized government had planned on and only in limited amounts of quantities (pssst – just like healthcare will be if Obama and the other socialist Dems put in universal healthcare!).
So, when I heard that Senator John Warner proposed that we go back to a national speed limit of 55MPH again, I was not impressed. Listening to all the greenies saying that I’m sinning for letting my turbocharged engine turn over a few more times at higher RPMs only puts my into more of a foul mood (and before…
…anyone starts in, I owned an active solar house for heat and water and my present house is a passive solar house so I’m down with the alternative energy thing when it makes sense). When I get lectured from the AlGore accolytes, I’d love to put some carbon in their oral orifices my way – some coal would work for me but would it classify as a carbon offset?
Look, I’ve heard all the arguments – it would save lives, it would save us money (better gas mileage), we’d have better air quality and (wrong headed, as engines will be running for longer to travel the same distance, so some will pollute more). And the next time I hear somebody say “it will lower your carbon footprint and help stop global warming”, the only thing I want to do is use my real footprint to stop their harping about global warming!
If people want to voluntarily slow down to save themselves money, get better gas mileage, and make themselves feel better about not adding to a problem that doesn’t exist (after all, again as in the 70s, we’re hearing about global cooling again!), let them. Nobody is stopping you – knock yourselves out!
Just allow me to live my life the way I want. If I want to do 65-70 on the highway and throw more of my money into my tank, so be it. Me using a little bit more is not going to take it away from you. Or anyone else.
Just stop taking my liberty away from me just because you think it is a great idea. Instead of hamstringing me, do a better job of convincing me – ’cause I’m more likely to do a better job if I think it is my idea instead of having it forced upon me.
But hey, those folks are Liberals, and they know that they know better than me – THEY know what’s best for me!
&#)%$*#@)$*#!!!!!
(cross posted at American Princess as a guest blog)
