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Media CBD Courier in the News

I am considered a liberal. The term is near-meaningless; much in current politics is. But I use it because it’s in vogue. More meaningless than the term are many of us who wear it. We are irrelevant, meaningless, senseless. Who can make sense of our protesting an oil war while we continue to buy gas? Our actions contradict our words.

Liberals (you can easily substitute the words 'peace activist' or 'environmentalist') ask elected leadership to adopt oil-independent national policies while our personal policies are oil-dependent. We all know political leadership isn’t leading the public; leadership is following the trended movement of large numbers of people. But when liberals hear that national oil-independent policies will only occur after many of us quit buying gas, they say "the American public will never get out of their cars." This is senseless. When we start paying the true price of oil, we will change not only our driving but also our flying habits. Americans will abandon oil-powered vehicles.

More importantly, the liberal response that "the American public will never get out of their cars" avoids the real question, which is: "Will we, as individual liberals, reduce our personal oil dependencies?" Most of us would rather criticize than confront our own habits.

I understand why we don’t want to face our contradictions. That requires changing lifestyles, abandoning stated values or living with a lie. We won’t abandon values - we insist on 'standing on the moral high-ground'. Lifestyle changes involve sacrifice and inconvenience - not a chance. So we live with our lie. We drive to the next protest. We put 'No oil war in my name' bumperstickers on our cars. We drive to our spacious suburban homes rather than ride the bus or move to smaller, more crowded urban and near-urban neighborhoods. We chauffer our kids to lessons and games. We live with our lie. It requires little commitment. We pay no obvious price. It’s easier.

Or is it? Living at odds with one’s self isn’t easy; there’s no internal peace. (It could be argued that our real values are a protection of our privileged comfort. If that’s the case, we need to quit protesting and begin actively building an empire to guard our national interest: oil.) If, however, our values are in opposition to dominating the world to satisfy our own oil addiction, we should live lives consistent with our values. Liberals need to lead the way to a more peaceful world by living oil-independent lives.

But it seems we liberals are content to be irrelevant, meaningless, senseless. We’d rather whine about the Bush administration than wield the real power in our hands. The administration’s oil men depend on our dollars. Stop buying their gas and we take away their power. Stop buying their gas and we redefine our national interests overseas. Stop buying their gas and we have no need to send our kids to war protecting oil. Stop buying their gas and we slow global warming. Stop buying their gas and we stop turning rural and wilderness areas into suburbia. Stop buying their gas and investment moves to urban rejuvenation, public transportation, education and health. Stop buying their gas and our values are realized. But we liberals settle for irrelevance, meaninglessness, senselessness.

In the final analysis, it does not matter whether one is liberal or falls into whatever other categories exist; we’re all in this together. We, as individuals and as a nation, will face radical change. Peace, war, domination and empire aside, radical change is inevitable for the following reason: Our current economy requires abundant, inexpensive fuel. But the age of cheap oil is soon over, and there are no reasonable alternative sources of plentiful, safe and affordable fuel. Our current economy is unsustainable, and we face either economic collapse or building a new economy with much reduced energy requirements. Reduction is the least cataclysmic.

So, liberals, please, lead our elected officials and the rest of the nation. Lead us to a place we won’t go on our own. Reduce the geography you travel. Park and sell your car. Learn to take the bus. Ride a bike. Walk. These actions will change our economy, our international policies, our lives and the lives of those who follow us. Your vision of a healthy, peaceful, just world is a radical one. It requires radical action on your part. The vision is worth the action. Please, start walking.

Jackie Green is the manager of Bike Depot, a bike shop and courier service on West Market Street.

Contact the writer at j@bikedepot.org