Defeatism As Opinion
This morning, The Times Editorial Board wrote a defeatist, all is lost editorial about the days of cheap gas being gone. In reading it, I felt the spirit of Jimmy Carter working its way through the editorial. Here’s a portion of the editorial:
Seriously, since those predictions oil prices have consistently set record highs, thanks to (fill in the blank), spurring several reactions from Central Minnesotans.
Among the most encouraging are anecdotes about people changing their gas-based behaviors and especially travel patterns. Indeed, four of five members of this very board fall into that category, with the fifth noting that they didn’t drive much anyway, so yet another price hike/spike induced no big worries.
Similarly, reports nationwide show everything from less travel being planned for this holiday weekend to Americans buying almost 3 percent less gas last week than they did at the same time a year ago. But there also is a different reaction, one which while understandable, seems to signal a reluctance to acknowledge the long-term realities about oil and gas amid supply and demand.
Imagine that. People are reluctant in believing that the days of cheap gas is over. This editorial is just a rewording of Jimmy Carter’s “Malaise Speech.” Remember this paragraph from the speech?
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation.
To my way of thinking, the Times Editorial Board editorial board is the embodiment of Carter’s speech. It’s like they’re saying “Market forces won’t work. Supply and demand are outdated concepts. Besides, we can’t really increase oil supply.” Instead of listening to such defeatism, I put together a Write Now editorial with a bit more optimism. Here’s a portion of my editorial:
This is a crisis of choice. We have the ability to drill our way out of it. But it means making a choice that we’ll start drilling off shore, in ANWR and in the Mountain West.
Did you know that Rep. John Peterson of Pennsylvania is on the record as saying we could increase oil production off California’s coast within a month with some new technology on existing rigs?
Actually, Rep. John Peterson said that “we could increase oil production off California’s coast within months”, not within a month. Nonetheless, it’s important to know that drilling could start making an impact within months. Rep. Peterson is the expert on this issue in the US House of Representatives.
Here’s something else I put into my editorial:
Had the Founding Fathers had that type of defeatist attitude, the United States would never have existed. The Editorial Board should be ashamed for writing such a defeatist rant just before Independence Day.
People settling for mediocre isn’t what made the United States great. Perseverance, vision and an indomitable spirit made the United States great. Defeatism isn’t part of our national DNA. If I have anything to say about it, it never will.
What’s important at this point in time is to rekindle the American attitude that we’re able to overcome all obstacles, no matter how daunting they appear. This crisis of choice is no different. We know the way forward. What we need is the steely resolve that the Founding Fathers had and the technology that Ford and Edison had.
Now let’s get to work and let’s make it work.
Technorati Tags: Gas Crisis, SC Times, Jimmy Carter, Malaise Speech, Defeatism, Founding Fathers, Rugged Individualism
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog