I too would love to be able to walk to the stores (too far) or ride my bike - but the drivers here are crazy and I don't feel like getting run over! I do drive less and consolidate my errands as much as possible.

Hello Coberst! I see this is your first post, so welcome to neuroTalk.

We explored this very topic some time ago, so I've given you the link to that thread, just incase you're interested.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=gasoline

It's up to $1:69 per litre here, which equates to approx $4:45 per gallon. That's very approximate, but you might like to work it out a bit closer to the exact figure, remembering that there are 1000 mls to the litre, and 600 mls to the pint.

I do know that some country areas have been charging anything up to $1:80 per litre.

I too don't need my car for much anymore and can think of different scenarios but when the trucks don't deliver the toilet paper to my nearest grocery store and there's no heat I hope someone thinks of a better way for all of us to live in the near future and I will honor he/she like Socrates - except no hemlock.

I guess that I can't join anyone in rejoicing about the rising price of gas. Because I lost my job, I no longer pay $100 a month for gas to get to work and back.

But, I don't have the energy, stamina or motivation to walk 2 miles round trip to get groceries.

I also volunteer some places, and have even farther to go to get there. Doctors offices are also not within walking distance for me.

I just don't get this thread. Some of us need to get out of the house more than once a week.

I probably am close enough that I could walk to church once a week, but that's the only change that seems reasonable in my life.

~ Faith

Humans are artifact adoring artisans

Humans are meme (idea) adoring creators.

Humans create symbols (abstract ideas) upon which they place value sufficient for killing and dying.

Americans create a flag (an artifact of cloth) which symbolizes the value they place in a nation (artifact, idea, meme) for which they will really kill and die (nothing artificial here).

Humans require meaningful symbols upon which to give life sufficient purpose for living, dying, and killing.

Because humans can create their own meaningful artifacts why does our species place meaning into such dangerous artifacts (memes, ideologies) as religion, nation, capitalism, communism, etc?

The freedom we have to create that which is meaningful to us is poorly used, why?

Why do we waste such a precious freedom on such dangerous toys?

We do so because we lack the courage (self-reliance) to go against the flow.

Our adaptation to society as infants and children has left us without the courage and confidence required to go against the flow of society. We have the freedom but not the energy and courage to overcome the blind habit of conformity.

We are not determined atoms; we do have the potential to do much better. How can we overcome what we have become and thus become something better?

We can overcome our present predicament by creating a new reality, a new set of meaningful symbols that we choose to give value.

Imagination is the instrument by which we can overcome.

It's a bittersweet cheer for me. We've taken our natural resources for granted, as well as the natural resources of other nations. We don't take what we need, we take all we can get. We think nothing of destroying our environment for the sake of our own pleasure and greed for more out of life. We never thought of the consequences of our actions, and future generations will have to pay for our mistakes.

This is nothing new. These same issues were being discussed back in the 60s when I was a kid. Very little progress has been made. Seems the focus was placed on making money instead of making progress in protecting ourselves and our environment. Maybe they should build a car that runs on money - dollar bills aren't of much use these days anyway.

It's hard on individuals, but if this keeps up it will be hard on us all. Most businesses also need fuel to survive. Rising fuel prices will effect the cost of EVERYTHING. Even if a business doesn't need fuel to survive, it's customers do.

It's already hard on us because I'm not able to work or drive and my husband is only working part-time. I don't need much, but a little food, shelter and clothing is nice.

sorry, I lost that a long time ago... it began to fray under Nixon, and shredded and scattered to the winds under Rayguns/Bush Sr.

after Bush Jr. started betraying the Constitution, I sold out, packed up, and left the US.

so, I've no hero-worshipfulness left in stock.



PS: gas is nearing $6.00 a gallon where *I* live...as you can imagine, we don't drive much.

Walk to the store? What a concept. lol
I would have to walk over 20 miles just to buy groceries.

My husband works 1 hour away, so that doesn't work for him either.

Gas prices finally hit $3.99.9 here yesterday and I'm sure before the weeks up, they will go higher.

Is it hurting us? you bet ya.
Where my hubby use to spend $300 a month for gas and lunch for work. He now spends $500 a month just for gas. He now takes his lunch.

The $500 is only his gas to and from work. It doesn't include gas that is used on the weekend to go get groceries and such. I try not to drive during the week, just to save on gas.

We have toyed with the idea of selling and moving closer to my husbands work. Thing is, if prices keep going up people will quit spending on extra's.
Then my hubby won't have a job. So what would be the point in moving?

DAY

Hi, Coberst! Welcome to NeuroTalk!

Since the original application of the overrated Archimedean point was to address moral/legal issues, it's a bit of a reach to suggest that therein lies a path to the moot solution to what is perceived by most of the world as a unique way of life. It borders on pseudo-Europeanism to suggest that U.S. society as a whole is somehow misguided or living a fantasy simply because we relish our way of life.

Myself, I'm a follower of Ronald Dworkin's treatment of Archimedes (who was more a mathematician than philosopher).

So, in response to your original question, my answer is "no" because I do not personally subscribe to the commercial-military-hero system of thought.

I do, however, wonder why you posted this here and now volley your question with mine:

Ours is a community of people who suffer with myriad neurological issues. Your status as a retiree is patently transparent.

Sounds like you are assuming that we have not already started to think or live a more simple, back to basics type of life.

Unfortunately, during the last 6 years, I have had MS. Due to that, I have lost a job that was previously in walking distance (although I required my vehicle for transportation for home visits during work hours, I used to walk home for lunch and back). As I've said, I also am unable to walk the 2 miles to the grocery store and back.

I do not have the balance to ride on a scooter ( or a horse!).

We have, for years, attempted to do multiple errands at the same time to save gasoline. We do not make frequent, out of town trips to shop. My DH uses his motorcycle to go places, when possible.

We also heat our home with a wood stove quite a bit in the winter. Not solely, but it keeps our bills down.

Using less gasoline is not always simply a matter of "rethinking". Sometimes, this is already the way we think. Conserving the earth's resources is an important issue, even when it's impact on our pocketbook is not as great.

But, some simpler things that I used to do are no longer possible for me. Due to MS, I live less simply than I did in the past. Due to the high cost of gas, I pay more for it.

I have already been making responsble decisions. Now, I may also need, for financial reasons, to make the difficult choice to see my family (who live 1200 miles away) less frequently, because I cannot afford the gas to go visit.

I repeat what I said in my previous post: I cannot join anyone in rejoicing about the high cost of gasoline. There is no reason that others cannot choose to live more simply, even without the hardship of $4.00 per gallon gasoline.

Disguising a hardship as something to rejoice about continues to make no sense to me. Cheering about that, Coberst, is, IMO, simply being insensitive to others.

~ Faith