Hummers and Evolution

As I sat here looking out the window, thinking, I saw a "personal" version of the Hummer go by on the street below. What exactly is the reason for owning such a huge vehicle? Is the person expecting to have to storm a Starbucks or the cupcake shop down the street this morning? Will there be coffee or cupcake riots? Perhaps a group of terrorists are holding the Latte machine hostage! He didn't have a 50 cal. mounted on the roof. I wonder how much armor he has welded onto the bottom to protect his family jewels from IEDs?

I notice that there are quite a few large pickups and SUVs here in Saint Louis. Most of them are shiny and clean. Not a speck of mud. Hand polished surfaces all gleaming like they were just driven out of the showroom. Obviously they are not used on unpaved roads, wilderness areas, or combat zones. Why do we continue to throw money away on such "useless" vehicles? Useless? Well, useless in an urban area.

Before someone cries out that I am a tree hugging kook—I am somewhat conservative. I like to hunt, fish, hike, etc. I dislike intrusive government. I distrust anyone who thinks they have the wisdom or the right to dictate my own personal choices that are legal. I do not need a nanny or a big brother!

However, I am also a citizen. Is it good citizenship to burn two or three times as much gasoline as is even reasonable by generous guidelines? If the macho man or the macho woman (women drive these hogs also), who think their status is displayed by the vehicle they drive, would be honest with themselves, they would have to admit that they do not need a Hummer, or a Land Rover, or any other "outback" kind of vehicle. Those huge tires are not proxies for testicles, breasts, or brains. If they get their self esteem stroked by such empty gestures, then perhaps I am speaking in the wind.

But really, wouldn't it be refreshing to see more public spirited actions by those who insist they have the right to drive what they want. Yes, they have the right. I do not think anyone should pass laws against their right to buy the gas hogs. Having said that, I note that conspicuous consumerism is not a civic good. It is a sickness or a madness that leads people to do what is really not in our best interest as a society. Self destructive behavior is usually not so pretty or shiny. Nevertheless, we are burning up the future for the sake of vacuous thrills. Perhaps a kind consumer evolution needs to take place. When the cost of a vehicle, insurance, and gas reach certain levels these vehicles might go the way of the dodo bird. Unfortunately, everyone will be paying higher prices before that happens.

The flip side of this is the slow response of our government and industry to tackle the alternatives to petro-fuels and internal combustion engines. Hmmmm—Perhaps the Hummers of every type do serve a useful purpose. When things become too expensive for most people to afford, solutions will be sought in earnest. The Hummers can only make that happen sooner.