Gas for Guns - This weekend I caught an episode of Greater Boston (just the tail end, actually) in which one of the subjects discussed was that SUV commercial story I mentioned last week. What struck me was that one panelist called the ads "offensive."

This took me by surprise. I expected people to disagree, but to call the ads "offensive" seemed, to me, to be quite a stretch. Apparently, some people are offended by the singling out of SUV owners, since we all in some way or another use petroleum products. But it's clear that the singling out of SUVs is simply a quick way of highlighting the decisions we make that either maximize or minimize our use of oil.

But, after some reflection I realized that these offended people are feeling something. I think they're feeling uncomfortable at being reminded of how their decisions fit into the greater scheme of things. We're happy in this country as long as we can maintain the fiction that our lives must go on without interruption and inconvenience, a fiction that our leaders see fit in the last year or so to reinforce.
We're at the point that any suggestion that we change the course of our lives is met with derision, offense, distaste, and eventually ignored.

It turns out my FIL had an article published in the local paper on this very subject. His opinions are often picked up by the New Bedford Standard Times.

He publishes his letter to the editor also on his own website: SUVs, if you please - Jan 10, 2003