Saving Energy is Destroying America
Apparently replacing incandescent light bulbs with efficient energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs is another sign of
the rising danger of a socialist state. As with
polemics against recycling, one cannot make this crazy stuff up.
Once again, it prompts the question of exactly what values do most of us think are uniquely and proudly American? Which is more quintessentially American:
- Using resources (energy, materials, and, ultimately, money) to any extent whim suggests, because our wealth affords it.
- Gratitude for the bounty America provides and a desire to use such blessings sparingly, conserving for the enduring benefit our family, community and country.
The first is epitomized by gas-guzzling automobiles, McMansions, and, yes, by wasting energy and materials in one's day-to-day being. Conspicuous consumption may display our lingering economic primacy, but not our national maturity.
The second is epitomized in part by Ben Franklin's
bon mot: "A penny saved is a penny earned." Remember when thrift was a virtue?
Reveling in
pointless waste is not conservative. It is folly in the face of our dependence on foreign sources of energy. It is reckless when we lack a sustainable energy policy. It is un-American.
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