Bend Over
I've got to tell you that in general 2005 has been the year that sucks. It's not just me, either. It seems like every time I turn around someone new has proclaimed this as the suckiest year in recent memory- not to mention all of the awful global disasters. A guy at the bank said that this year has been so bad that on New Year's Eve he's going to tear down his 2005 calendar and crap on it literally! Pretty crude, but you get the point. I have felt much the same way as everyone else has been sharing: helpless, sad and wondering if God is trying to get our attention. What makes me even more depressed than the actual events that have occurred is the pitiful condition of the human race in reaction. Maybe it's our media obsessed society that seems to like to show ten awful images to scarcely one positive one. There's more news in the bad, right? Or have we really become such a greedy and self-serving people that we don't know how to help anyone except ourselves? What happened to group identity, pride and the greater good? I know that I'm preaching to the choir. It's just hard to tell a bunch of kids that they can make a real difference in the world when I'm so easily disheartened myself.
I'm going to sound like a big whiner, but hear me out: this gas situation is totally out of control! I don't want to hear about how much they pay in Europe and my argument isn't motivated out of being a tight wad. I'm pissed at the greedy gauging that is going on. Last night in two hours we witnessed a six cent increase at a local gas station. This morning, it was ten cents in three hours. You cannot tell me that there has been such a huge demand for gas in the last 24 hours that the stations have purchased barrells twice. You might say, "Well, it's just gas." But it's not! This is just the beginning of what could be major economic problems. We are so dependant on gas to transport ourselves and just about everything in our lives that we are going to end up paying more money for everything. We won't just feel it at the pump. We'll feel it at the grocery store, in our travel, at the post office (I smell another postage increase)... it goes on and on. Are our cost of living raises going to keep up? Hell, no! And it's all because of the immense selfishness and greed of the wealthiest one percent of the world's population. Wouldn't you think that there would come a point when wealth is just obscene and one more billion really doesn't matter? It makes me sick.
Let's go back to that whole making a difference concept. Last night I expressed my upset about the gas station's increase to the surly woman behind the counter and of course she countered, "What do you expect me to do about it?" How awful was that?! I said, "Tell your owner that I'm never coming back to this station because of the gauging! I'll get a bike." True, alone my little outburst doesn't mean much, but what if we all refused to buy gas on Fridays and Tuesdays and limited unnecessary driving. If thousands of us organized ourselves, it just might hurt the pocket book and send a little message that we won't just take it. It would be a great lesson in supply and demand. Right now we have a supposedly low supply and a high demand, which means the prices are free to continue rising. But if we decrease our demand, theoretically, prices should decrease too. That's a really simple way of looking at it, and I know that there are a lot of other factors to consider. But, it could work if people weren't so convinced that they are powerless. That's the even bigger tragedy. If we don't fight the good fights and exercise the power we do have than we deserve to be screwed.
I'm going to sound like a big whiner, but hear me out: this gas situation is totally out of control! I don't want to hear about how much they pay in Europe and my argument isn't motivated out of being a tight wad. I'm pissed at the greedy gauging that is going on. Last night in two hours we witnessed a six cent increase at a local gas station. This morning, it was ten cents in three hours. You cannot tell me that there has been such a huge demand for gas in the last 24 hours that the stations have purchased barrells twice. You might say, "Well, it's just gas." But it's not! This is just the beginning of what could be major economic problems. We are so dependant on gas to transport ourselves and just about everything in our lives that we are going to end up paying more money for everything. We won't just feel it at the pump. We'll feel it at the grocery store, in our travel, at the post office (I smell another postage increase)... it goes on and on. Are our cost of living raises going to keep up? Hell, no! And it's all because of the immense selfishness and greed of the wealthiest one percent of the world's population. Wouldn't you think that there would come a point when wealth is just obscene and one more billion really doesn't matter? It makes me sick.
Let's go back to that whole making a difference concept. Last night I expressed my upset about the gas station's increase to the surly woman behind the counter and of course she countered, "What do you expect me to do about it?" How awful was that?! I said, "Tell your owner that I'm never coming back to this station because of the gauging! I'll get a bike." True, alone my little outburst doesn't mean much, but what if we all refused to buy gas on Fridays and Tuesdays and limited unnecessary driving. If thousands of us organized ourselves, it just might hurt the pocket book and send a little message that we won't just take it. It would be a great lesson in supply and demand. Right now we have a supposedly low supply and a high demand, which means the prices are free to continue rising. But if we decrease our demand, theoretically, prices should decrease too. That's a really simple way of looking at it, and I know that there are a lot of other factors to consider. But, it could work if people weren't so convinced that they are powerless. That's the even bigger tragedy. If we don't fight the good fights and exercise the power we do have than we deserve to be screwed.
posted by Unknown at 5:31 PM
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