hot dogs, apple pie, and gas prices
- We are spoiled in this country. We have always had lower gas prices than most of the world. Europe was paying $4 per gallon years ago. When we have to pay that much we whine and pitch a fit.
- I don't like paying these prices any more than anyone else, but perhaps we need a different perspective.
- Do we think that we are special? That we somehow deserve to have low gas prices? Maybe all of this political finagling we do in the Middle East is supposed to earn us some kind of favor?
- Well, the truth is, we still have lower prices than most of the world. They may be higher than we would like to pay, but they are lower by as much as $5 per gallon!
- An article I read said that we still spend more on gas because we drive more and we drive gas-guzzling vehicles.
- This isn't about the politics of fuel. Although I personally would love for us to break our dependence on foreign oil. I would love for us to break our dependence on fossil fuels altogether. But thats really beside the point.
- The point is we are spoiled. I love America, but sometimes I am ashamed of the American mentality. We are a spoiled and gluttonous nation. We seem to think that we automatically deserve better and more than anyone else, just because of who we are.
- Remember WWII and how the entire nation pitched in and sacrificed for the sake of the country? Can you imagine the reaction if we were asked to make those kind of sacrifices now?
- This is not an attack on the USA. Don't misunderstand me, please. But I am saying that maybe we need some introspection. What is our own personal attitude about these things? If we are Christians, we need to be sure our attitudes are in line with Christ's, right?
- And if our attitudes are right, then we need to pray for the rest of our countrymen. And maybe we can learn some things from people around the world. Drive less. Drive smaller. Walk more. Bike more. Roll with the punches a bit better.
- (I don't know what is up with these bullets! I didn't want them and I can't get rid of them. But I'll roll with it. These bullets are nothing compared to those some people have to deal with, right?)
- All in all we are still very blessed as a nation. We have much to be thankful for and I for one would like to turn my mind toward those things rather than the things I would like to see change.
- Oslo, Norway $9.85
- London, England $8.96
- Paris, France $9.43
- Rome, Italy $9.03
- Berlin, Germany $8.68
- Tokyo, Japan $6.30
- Montreal, Canada $5.57
It is good to see you become radicalized! Preach it!
ReplyDeleteSome commercial the other day got me all riled up about the excess and waste in this country. Or maybe it was the combination of watching the Food Network's show about how things are made combined with the statistics of how much is made--it was some ice cream show and it said that the store sells like 5 gallons per person per year and coupled with Compassion International's Food Crisis awareness campaign, I got sick.
ReplyDeleteThere are people in this country who could feed several nations with they're chump change.
OH. I know what else. I saw a brick chair. I started getting Metropolitan Home magazine (I don't know why, I don't pay for it) and on the inside back cover was a chair, made of concrete brick for over $20,000.
Disgusting.
Kay, it isn't that we "deserve" anything special, it's that we have the ingenuity and capablility to provide for these "special" things. I'm a baby boomer. My parents lived through the Great Depression and loved this country with all their hearts. Each new invention that made life better was cheered and experienced by the WWII vets and families.
ReplyDeleteWe can have lower gas prices by providing for our own oil. It shouldn't even be a political agenda. It's common sense to provide it to our own country and to other countries who need it.
Christians should be giving to the poor and needy here and abroad. If they aren't, they need to be. We can't expect the lost to think and do what we need to do.
I'm tired of feeling "guilty" for being born in the USA. I love this country. I've been in Europe. This is still the best country in the world even with its faults and the politics of the day.
I love my SUV. It's incredibly functional, and I will never ride a bike on the streets. Bikers are flat dangerous. I do drive less, but there is no oil shortage, no global warming, no evidence that "going green" reduces energy usage and certainly not the costs. It's just politics.
Like you, I am grateful to be an American. Thank God He allowed me this birthright. I praise Him for the privilege.
I agree with Nicole! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteMy husband, just out of high school in 1955, working for a $1.00an hour and gas was $.25 a gallon or less at that time. He looks at the increase of gas prices a long time coming, we call it inflation. In today world most people make $10.00 or more an hour, it all balances out in the end.
ReplyDeleteNicole's comments offended me. As a European-American, I take umbrage at the notion that the USA is the "best" nation in the world. By what measurement can one make such a jingoistic statement. What is wrong with saying, "I love my country." Why do we Americans have to prove our patriotism by over-stating America's "greatness"? All I am asking is to allow those from Europe and other nations to celebrate their love of country without feeling attacked. Perhaps nicloe feels badly and hides it by wrapping herself in the US flag and snarling at any foreigners who and not kowtowing to the USA. Outrageous. We will NEVER fit in as a "Christian" nation with such self-rightoius attitudes!
ReplyDeleteI do not feel "badly", Geen. And one of the reasons this country is so great is because of the individuals who have come from all over the world to be a part of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love my country. I do feel it is the best, but I certainly don't blame anyone else if they feel their country is the best.
Snarling? Hardly.
I prefer the freedoms of this country to any other nation, Europe included. You have to remember, Geen, it's just my opinion. So no need to be offended. And no offense to you, Geen, but you don't sound very American to me.
Contrary to your accusation, I wasn't trying to "fit in" to any worldview, and I wasn't being self-righteous. I was being thankful. Still am.
You really aren't comparing apples to apples here. All those cities have massive transit systems and non of them live in lovely rural suburbs like Parker. Can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteThe news said the other night that if China started to consume like America we would need another planet to put the waste on. Now isn't that a thought!
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ReplyDeleteAnother reason these countries have such high gas prices is because they also have astronomical taxes added on to them. Look into their taxes and then try and compare.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous is right. I have traveled all over the world. Africa, China, all of Europe, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and many, many other countries around the world and each people group is proud of their respective country but each one given the chance would move here..why? It is not the greatness..it is what makes us great..FREEDOM.
ReplyDeleteKay, I liked the bullets. It was like you were shooting at us. Went with the zealous tone. :0) Go USA.
ReplyDeleteOh Oh
ReplyDeleteYou sure have the discussion going here...
ReplyDeleteI'm not even sure what to say...but I see some validity in the various opinions.
We have to go with our convictions and strive to become what God would have us to be regardless of where we live or where we are from. We can all make a positive impact on our world.
Nicole...Just a note: I served eight years in the United States Air Force, my dad was in Korea, my brother earned the Bronze Star in the Gulf War. NEVER judge my patriotism! Again, you come across as a self-righteous Yank. No wonder other civilized nations laugh at us.
ReplyDeleteGeen, praise the Lord for your service. I'm grateful for it and for your family history in serving this country.
ReplyDeleteBut for the life of me, I cannot understand why you're accusing me of being "self-righteous" and are attacking MY patriotism. A YANK? Yes, born and raised in the USA. So what? I'm so very grateful for that. My Dad's parents were full-blooded Italian immigrants who became citizens of this country.
Other civilized nations don't "laugh at us", Geen. Your information is skewed and inflammatory. Why are you judging me for loving my country? I don't get your anger.
I came across as angry only because I find the whole "We-are-better-than-everyone-else-" mentality trite, condescending, and hackneyed. With that being said, Let's call a truce to all of this silliness. I am a brother in Christ and your are my sister in Christ. Nationality means little to me when compared to His glory.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
ReplyDeleteWhew!
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