What Happened to Sacrifice?
November 3, 2001
by Dave Milam

You may recall from past history and leaders, famous and less famous quotes attributed to them regarding the value of sacrifice. I remember in Kennedy's inaugual that quote of "ask not what your contry can do for you, but what you can do for your country".

When he spoke those words they did not seem trite or for effect only. When he established the peace corps he gave americans the oppurtunity to practice them.

Churchill offered up to the British people in a time of utmost peril that he could only offer them "blood, sweat, tears, and toil". In context to that he also told them that England would never surrender.

Jesus offered the words, "greater love has no one than this then that a man lay down his life for his friends", and then he backed it up by doing just that on a cross.

Unfortunately, today, starting with Ronald Reagan and exemplified by George Bush, the idea seems to be to give people what they want and not have to pay for it with taxes. Paying taxes is a responsibility of living in a free and just society, and attempting to skirt them is reprehensible.

I believe that the kind of sacrifice all americans should be willing to give up, and this must be fostered by our leaders; is a large federal tax on gasoline. If they levied a dollar tax or more on gasoline it certainly would force americans to waste much less and it would focus their attention on realizing oil the nonrenewable resource it is.

To be dependent on it like dope on cheap oil from an unstable and dangerous part of the world like the middle east is the height of folly. The sooner that we become less or nondependent on this the more secure our nation will be.

Every driver who fills their tank should be realizing that in an indirect or even direct way they are responsible for financing terrorists.

Hybrid cars, solar cells, just plain getting off our fat asses and walking or biking is necessary if we ever want to be free from the terror and violence our fix for oil provides to the middle east.