The reason the broadcast caused me to sit doing secretarial work is simple: it's my Change.
One of the fellows I spoke to today was vehemently against Biodiesel use and said (and this is, I believe, pretty close to verbatim):
"We shoulda blown up **** and **** and all them and put a prison over all of it and sucked them dry, then sold gas for 25 cents a gallon. If they don't care about us, why should I care about them?"
Ironically, this guy services agricultural equipment like tractors -- and farmers are the ones who stand to benefit perhaps the most from a biofuels industry.
So, casually I said "That sounds like quite a plan, and I can see your point. But you know what's true about biodiesel is that it's made in America...jobs...economy boost," etc.
He didn't buy it, telling me how good money is paid to thousands of workers to labor for oil overseas. But he did seem relieved to blow off steam. Once his kettle is whistled out, I hope it comes clear that the seed was planted. You never know. Life is interesting because of guys like this. There's a deeply jingoistic survival instinct at play -- the kind of instinct that has sometimes made the difference between triumph and defeat. And yes, I really could see his point: If we're so powerful, and God is on our side, why can't we just take what we need?
Power, in the strong-arming sense, is (or should be) a thing of the past. America has so much. We don't need to bully anybody else into coughing up something we think we deserve. And the problem with the view above is that just about anyone can justify just about anything with it -- and they have. *****************************************************************************
Those represent a whole paragraph that was perhaps a little too zealous to post.
But I hope that we're going to see this change. Well, not 'see'. Effect. As I told Erin, I will be sorely disappointed if we don't. All we can do is our best in the moment...each and every one of us.
--Nellamity Jane
Nell -
ReplyDeleteThat whole "if they don't care about us, why should we care about them?" attitude really irks me, and saddens me just the same. I don't see how anything can get done - in any sense - with a world view like that. Hopefully in the coming months and years Obama can inspire and stir something very different in these people.
Oh, and I did hear his little throwaway line to "non-believers." I had to wonder as well whether it was a criticism or not, especially coming in the wake of that prayer all of America (and much of the world) was forced to listen to - which clearly should be considered an antiquated Inauguration ritual by now. It's funny, Obama famously made a point of acknowledging the gay community in his election night speech, but atheism is still a dirty word.
-Erin