There are far better writers here at Daily Kos on the subjects of energy, the environment and the economy than me, a guy who writes ads and marketing pieces for a living, and, thus, knows a little about thousands of subjects but not a lot about anything in particular.
I guess my specialty would be common sense. My job is to stir an audience to take a desired action. My daily work routine consists of asking myself, "Why would I change my behavior, or buy this product, or sign up for this service? What would it take to get me to make this choice?"
In that regard, I'm very practical. My strength is that I'm good at being the target audience.
So I look at the world situation today, August 1, 2006, and I wonder, "What the hell is it going to take to snap this country out of its energy somnambulence?"
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Nearly every major issue impacting our nation at present revolves around energy and the Middle East: Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, the Palestinians, the price of oil, inflation, the wholesale destruction of our military assets, the wholesale destruction of our environment, the deficit, etc. (Obvious, I know, but bear with me.)
Being a marketing/advertising guy, I generally focus on the big picture. In the case of energy and the Middle East, I look at all these seemingly intractable issues and problems and wonder why our leadership, and, by extension and example, the vast majority of our nation's population, refuses to admit that disentangling ourselves from the region should be Priority #1 for the United States?
My immediate thoughts after 9-11 (and after it was clear that most of our attackers were Saudi) weren't about revenge. I thought, "How can we get oursleves out of dealing with the politics and the hostilities of the Middle East?"
Being a creative person by job description and by nature, my initial thoughts were the opposite of what George Bush and company proposed. If I were President, I would have immediately slapped a dollar tax on gasoline (to pay for REAL homeland security and to improve our intelligence gathering capabilities, worldwide), and told vehicle manufacturers that we were fast-tracking fuel economy improvements over the next five to ten years. And then I would have told the Saudis and the rest of the oil producers that we were going to continue to raise taxes on gasoline until we cut our consumption by a significant percentage (to be determined by those more expert than I on the subject).
[NOTE: The economy was already in shambles due to 9-11, so I would have argued that we would at least be controlling "the shambles" and reaping some benefits (better homeland security, better worldwide intelligence) if we taxed fuel.]
Finally, I would have informed the rest of the countries in the region, including Israel, that our goal would be to disengage from the region over the next decade.
And look where we are today. Bogged down in Iraq. Impotent in the Israeli-Palestinian-Lebanon mess due to our lack of credibility and resources brought on by the Iraq fiasco. Facing surging oil and fuel prices with worldwide demand ever increasing. Standing with our hands in our pockets as the world warms leading to god-knows-what conclusions...
And our leadership (if Bush and company can be called leadership) utters nary a word about getting off the oil merry-go-round and disengaging from the cauldron that is the Middle East.
The motivations of the Cheney Cabal are obvious, of course. Their interests are directly tied to our continued dependency on fossil fuels.
But where is the outcry -- the definitive policy positions -- of our team?
Al Gore has his issue. And it's a big one. But from a marketing perspective, I think it's a bit of a tough sell to the average Joe. Too big? Too overwhelming? Too scary?
Perhaps.
But the realities of the Middle East and higher fuel prices are real. Our fellow citizens are coming to grips with the disaster that is Iraq. They are watching the conflagration between Israel and Hizbollah and the death and destruction in Lebanon and worrying about what will happen next. They are stopping at the gas pump and watching their cash run away faster than they can make it. And they're wondering how they'll make those payments on their adjustable rate home equity loans or mortgages just at the time when everytyhing, not just gas, is costing them more.
Now is the time that our team needs to deliver a simple, powerful, clear message:
We are getting off the oil merry-go-round and we are going to forcefully push for more fuel-efficient vehicles, building systems, appliances, you name it. It WILL require sacrifice (something the current administration has never addressed), but this is a serious effort to regain some semblance of control of our nation's future.
There is a simple concept that most Americans can grasp and even embrace.
The dominos then begin to fall from this general policy:
Less engagment in the (always troublesome) affairs of the Middle East.
An improvement in the environment of our nation and the world.
Quantifiable and measurable objectives and goals that we strive for together, as a nation, in order to improve our own lives, the health of the nation, and the health of the world.
My sense of the mood of the nation is that Americans believe that world events are spiraling out of our control. They're tired of the never-ending focus on the problems of the Middle East. And they are well aware of our dependence on nations that provide comfort and cash to those who would seek to harm us.
Our country is ripe for change. And now is the time to stake that bold change.
Frankly (and sadly), I'm not holding my breath waiting for our current crop of Dem leaders to embrace such a statement or policy at this time. (Maybe Gore will step up in `08 and maybe he won't.)
But we have an opportunity to seize the moment NOW.
It's just sitting there, isn't it?
