My friend was called an extremist because she feels Hummers, half-ton pickup trucks and SUVs are not necessary. This perplexes me. It also leaves me wondering: What is so extreme about the idea? Who are generally considered extremists here in Utah? Why, despite the constant warnings that we need to change our lifestyles to improve the air quality, do we continue to pursue contrary actions?
The response my friend received scares me a little. If I take a step back and look at all of this subjectively, it seems that everyone would come to the same logical conclusion. There is a monstrous, smelly and threatening cloud poisoning each one of us. Unlike the supposed cloud of the Cretaceous period, a meteor or another natural disaster didn’t cause our cloud. We caused it. We came to this valley, built factories and starting driving Hummers and half-ton trucks. Although our means of obtaining the cloud were quite different from the dinosaurs’, the results, although less dramatic, are the same. We are breathing in poisonous air.
What is the reaction? Although the sale of big vehicles such as Hummers and half-ton trucks go down, those vehicles still make up the majority of automotive sales in the United States. In other words, “I prefer to keep my smog cloud, thank you very much.” I ask again, who has the extreme idea?
I am concerned about what makes an extreme idea in America. I am reminded of an old Quizno’s commercial in which a caveman invents pants but can’t convince his caveman friend to wear them. The caveman instead continues to wear bushes because it is still what everyone else is wearing. I understand that in many instances trucks are more practical. However, too often these large vehicles are bought for the same reason the caveman decided to continue to wear bushes instead of pants — it is fashionable. Sadly, fashions are often not determined by practicality. It seems completely irrational to me that people are willing to kill themselves to look cool or try to turn on some mindless floozy they will probably never meet.
I also worry that because America is still so wide open and prosperous, we often gorge ourselves. I guess in some ways, defiantly hurting ourselves is a twisted result of the American dream. You can do whatever you want in America, but just because so many of us can does not mean we should. I worry sometimes that some Americans have the same mentality as a 3-year-old. As long as you keep putting cake in front of them, they will keep eating it until they puke. Part of being a grown-up is realizing when to quit, and the smog is literally filling our valley faster than we can digest it.
I realize that not all of our pollution problems come from driving large vehicles. So what? That rationalization is silly. If I got caught spraying graffiti, a viable excuse would not be to say there are millions of other people spraying a lot more graffiti than me. It is time for some of us to re-examine our behavior and consider what an extreme idea is.
