More Morford - God Loves The 1974 VW Dasher

We invaded Iraq, by and large, to protect our strategic oil interests, to lock down that desperately needed 10 percent of the world's supply by whatever violence and blood and dead disposable U.S. soldiers necessary. And as a vicious adjunct, Bush recently signed the worst energy bill you will ever see in your lifetime: $12 billion worth of the most disgusting pork you ever laid eyes on, billions for oil and useless bridges and nauseating pet projects, and barely a penny of it goes toward renewable energy technologies or alternative fuels or conservation, and almost all goes toward BushCo's profiteering thugs in the corporate marketplace. Go, USA!

I love my new car. I enjoy the fact that, by choosing this model, I tried to minimize its impact on the world, short of giving up driving entirely and getting a bike. But I hate that it is, in the most vital way, no better than my mom's Dasher, 30 years ago. I hate the fact that, despite all our protests, despite all our gizmos and high-tech dazzle, the Powers That Be still don't seem to care.

Are we not gods? Are we not on our way to the stars? Hell no, we're not. In many ways, we haven't even left the damn driveway yet.