Insight

War on gas could save us

Toe-knee richie
arichie@mscd.edu

Does anyone believe we're getting ripped off with gas prices going through the roof? I don't drive, but it doesn't take a NASCAR driver to figure it out.

Does anyone know the real reason gas prices are at all-time highs? I'm sure the leaders of this country do, how else would they explain the recent expansion of their personal wealth?

We could theorize about the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer and the middle-class becoming more of a memory, a future lesson in American history. We could theorize on the similarities of Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor-dangerous excuses for innocent lives being lost. We could examine how, in less than six years in office, President Bush has destroyed the economy, educational system, and foreign relations former President Clinton rebuilt after a 12-year downward spiral. We could also question so many other things pertaining to politics, religion, or the government as a whole, and we will at another time. But, I'd like to go back to something with an odor that overpowers all else-metaphorically, anyway.

Gasoline is a resource in high demand around most of the world. It is a material possession for those in need of instant gratification, but what isn't nowadays? The Internet, fast-food, cell phones, satellite everything, etc. We live in a need-for-speed society. If you can't produce it fast and cheap, you find someone who can.

Gas shouldn't fall into this trap, however. It's not even a solid material. Cars gulp it down like we do a Big Mac. Is it easier to fill your tank up with lofty vapor or your head up with lofty, media-created mistruths?

Think about this: we having been waging a "war on drugs" for a while now, and nothing seems to be getting better. The streets aren't cleaned up of drug dealers, drug users, drug paraphernalia, or drugs. Actually, with increases to the amount of money going toward this "war," the only things going up with it is the quality of the drugs and the quantity of their availability.

According to Drugsense.org, this year alone, $14.6 billion in federal and $22.4 billion in state funding have already gone to help eliminate illegal drugs. That's $40 billion in less than 10 months, and is likely to reach $48 billion by year's end. There have been 1.15 million arrests and 7,876 incarcerations thus far in 2005. How many of those arrests/incarcerations can we thank overspending for?

So, I have an idea. Why not wage a "war on gasoline?" The government could spend $48 billion a year for something helpful to our society, rather than pretending to rid society of something that's only considered wrong because of traditions and laws. They could either buy higher-octane fuel or develop a more accessible, more environmentally-safe alternative. We'd actually be receiving better quality and a larger quantity of a material accepted and demanded in our fast-paced, slow-changing world.