Time to step back and redefine our priorities. Is pragmatic materialism our ideal, or our former self image? Should oil and military power be our goal and the tool to secure that goal? Our morals and values were originally imported from northern Europe, where Christianity and cold winters bred individualism and moral values. We thus value the individual, while holding compassion and a sense of fair play in high regard. Our standards may seem contradictory, and all western societies have faced that same dichotomy. The colonial powers found that even raw materials and ensured markets, did not make colonies worthwhile.

Which is smarter, garrisoning a foreign country to ensure the source of light oil, or a concerted national effort to provide alternative energy sources not reliant on other nations? That would also guarantee us with the advantage in alternative energies for the future.

Americans used to think of themselves as compassionate, not inclined to conquer others, which itself was a fallacy of the highest magnitude. We conquered this country from the native Americans, and we absorbed half of Mexico in the 1840s by conquest; I.e. the "Halls of Montezuma" is part of the U.S. Marine Corp history and pride. We absorbed the territories of Puerto Rico and Samoa after the Spanish American War of 1898. We did give the Philippines their freedom after World War II.

The point is that America needs to redefine its identity. Either it becomes a militaristic power or it attempts an identity as a compassionate neighbor. Fear and ignorance are bedfellows, and too many Americans subscribe to this base emotion. We do not need to take natural resources from others, we need to use the many we have, to better advantage for all.

Let us listen to T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore and declare war on fossil fuels, for our own good.

Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport.

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