Leadership or the lack thereof

To the editor: It was quite a reality check reading the comments in the Inquiring Photographer section Friday to the question; “What do you think of the rising gas prices?” Each person seemed pretty disgusted with the prices and spoke of how they will change behaviors to adjust. What we all missed was the essential question that nags in the back of many of our heads; how did we get here again? Think about the last time we went through this hardship what has happened since then. We have done precious little to conserve, reduce, or find alternatives, and most importantly of all to elect politicians having the strength of will and moral character to make the tough decisions, tough enough they could loose their office, which considering the caliber of many of them would not be a bad thing. We are a glutinous nation with regard to many more things than just oil, but none threatens our way of life more then the loss of the black gold. We have allowed these politicians to sell our children’s future to a cast of vilians posing as world leaders, from Arab sheiks in the Middle-east to corporate weenies who would sell their souls to the devil but to make one more point on their stock option. For evidence of their greed look to the published earnings of “big oil” this past week. The most contemptous of the lot though are the so-called leaders of this great nation, whether shaded blue or red, these ladies and gentlemen have squandered thirty-plus years by relaxing standards thus encouraging the spread of the SUV and other gas-guzzlers like a plague of locusts over the hi-ways of America. Many years of relatively inexpensive oil has fueled the profligate expansion in the size and power of cars, trucks, and has even given rise to the most conspicuous consumer of all the mega-SUV, we all know to which King Kong-sized vehicle I refer. We are like spoiled children who have come to expect things from our enabling parent (Uncle Sam) things like cheap gasoline, and perpetual electric power. These things are not entitlements. The things we’ve come to expect can disappear just as quickly as many people’s lives were changed by hurricane Katrina. We need to grow up as an electorate and put responsible people in office who look long-term, who will tell us “no cookies before dinner,” the ones who worry about our children’s children and not their reelection. We should make it our national mission to be able in twenty years to figuratively pull our pants down and moon the oil producing nations of the world. Imagine what freedom of action our government would have not being addicted to the black gold. Would we stand by idly while a lunatic got ready for Armageddon worrying about whether or not our oil would be shut off, or would we say enough? Joseph Biuso Milford