“Vote yourself a farm!”
” A chicken in every pot!”
“Turn down the thermostat! Put a sweater on!”
“Just buy an EV!”
The above are some presidential statements. The first two are campaign slogans. The second two are admonitions by sitting presidents. What do you notice about these statements? The first two are the candidates’ slogans, should they win (and they did), for a hope-filled future. Citizens being the cause and the needed correction for crisis appear to be the aim of the second two statements.
“Just do it. Just buy an EV (electric vehicle).” That is the suggestion U.S. citizens are given to ease high gas prices. My interpretation of this statement is We the People are supposed to fix the high cost of fuel by buying a different car. It’s not the intent here to simplify a significant issue. I am not a policy expert. However, I think we have a citizenship issue on our hands. So, how do we respond?
When a leader says something, we owe it to ourselves to evaluate the statement and its reasoning. Is the admonition to buy an EV realistic? Can a large percentage of the citizenry change the economics of our country by going into debt for an EV? Is going into more debt at this time in our nation’s history wise? Even if we extensively built up our public transportation, wouldn’t we need to use fossil fuels to do it? And the obvious: What do we do with the God-given natural resources we already have? Are we literally sitting on a solution? We all want to help. How does going into debt for an EV alleviate the suffering of exorbitant prices, not only for us but for our allies worldwide?
I cannot get from point A to point B to see my grandchildren in an EV. There are no charging stations between here and there. Owning an EV might feel virtuous, but is it superfluous? Should EVs be a choice, not a strong suggestion bordering on requirement?
Americans used to champion freedom of choice a lot. The tide seems to be turning to favor compulsory obedience rather than individual choice. Given a choice between bread and freedom, choose freedom.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. 🇺🇸
