Rising anger

A friend who’s a builder used to drive his big diesel everywhere. Now he runs errands in a hybrid Prius and is happy to let his truck sit idle. “I don’t know how these guys with the big diesel pickups can keep driving them,” he told me. “Every time they fill up, it’s over a hundred bucks. I was doing that and it was starting to make me angry.”

For many, there’s little choice. Their trucks are their work vehicles. They’re angry at pump prices, but they’ve got to work. A hybrid is great, but you can’t haul construction materials in a Prius.

The anger my friend describes at the pump will also play out at the grocery store. Food prices are rising, and it’s easy to spend $150 a week on groceries. Factor in utility costs to keep the house warm and the lights on, and suddenly the cost of living for the average family is out of control. I say “average family” because it’s not hard times for everyone.

In Michael Moore’s film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” there is a clip of George W. Bush addressing a group of well-heeled supporters at a gala banquet. “You are the haves and the have-mores,” grins Bush. “And you are my base.”

I’ll never forget that clip because it made me realize how Bush’s elitist base has profited from the gross indiscretions of his failed administration. The cost of living is high because Bush put the interests of his friends ahead of the nation’s long-term needs.

The first paragraph in the US Constitution stipulates “promote the general welfare.” Instead, Bush and his buddies have plundered the economy, undermined national security, gutted environmental protections, and destroyed our international prestige.

Instead of telling Americans to “go shopping” after 9/11, Bush should have mandated energy efficiency as a new Declaration of Independence. Instead of launching the war in Iraq, Bush should have launched an alternative energy campaign. Instead of endorsing torture, Bush should have embraced humanitarianism. Instead of giving free rein to unscrupulous investment bankers, Bush should have worked for financial security. Instead of heaping tax breaks on the rich, Bush should have taken care of the middle-class and the poor. Instead of mortgaging America’s future, Bush should have strengthened the American dollar.

Ironically, many of the angry Americans feeling the bite of the Bush years voted for him — not just once, but twice! At risk of blaming the victims, it should be understood that many middle-class Americans are now bitter and angry because of their own politics.

Bitterness and anger lead to change, and hopefully not just a John McCain version of Bush or a saber-rattling Hillary Clinton. What we need is a Barak Obama shift toward enlightened leadership that serves a far broader base than the “haves and have-mores.”

As Americans, we also need to look at ourselves. The F-250 pickup is a symbolic dinosaur that needs to be idled — for the good of the world. Fuel is a precious commodity that should not be pissed away, for two good reasons: gas prices and global warming.

We’ve been living in a fool’s paradise, blind to the consequences of the Bush follies and the impacts of our own lifestyles. Now — at the pump and the grocery store — comes a time of reckoning that is painful, yet hopefully motivating.

So get angry. Question the national leadership that has spun this impossible web. Question the economic system that widens the gap between rich and poor. Question misguided policies that warm the planet, wage wars, and strip the world of resources.



Then do something about it and elect leaders whose platforms promise change. Take personal responsibility and adjust your life to fit the times. Get off the couch and do something to turn it around.

Consumer anger is the best sign yet that critical change is in the wind.

<i>Paul Andersen’s column appears on Mondays.</i>