There’s a common belief that the rest of the world doesn’t love us as much as we’d like them to because we’re heavy-handed and brutal. They don’t like that we send our armies to their lands and waterboard their people and stand around checkpoints with automatic weapons. That’s bunk. The rest of the world doesn’t love us because we’re not them. That’s the issue.

I believe that no matter what we do, the rest of the world will never love us and put little pictures of us on their mantles. When we’re weak, we just invite attack. When we attack them, and then display weakness, we invite justifiable (at least in their minds) attack.

The solution? I think we need to make it clear to the rest of the world that we might just be crazy enough to get really medieval if need be. Let’s face it, there was the thought in the 80s that Ronald Reagan was a crazy-enough anti-Communist that he might let some nukes fly if someone looked at him funny. So they didn’t. Did we get the same fear-based respect when the ever-reasonable, obviously fair and humanitarian Jimmy Carter was in charge? Hardly.

If anything, the attacks of 9/11 were attacks on a seemingly weak-willed nation. Never forget that the George W. Bush who looks like an uncaring invader today, in the beginning days of September 2001 was a recently elected, not very successful (on his own) guy who mostly avoided military service. Who could blame Islamic militant whackos for assuming he’d be a weak-willed adversary?

As Dennis Miller said on the Tonight Show (and elsewhere) in 2002:

“I don’t even understand why we’ve taken nuclear weapons off the table. I mean we treat them like our mother’s good china. We never use them. I think you’ve got to pick a day where there’s no wind, in a desolate part of the Earth, just blow off a bomb just to let them know we’re sitting on a nice hold card, okay?”

He’s right. When there’s a guy in the bar who has a crazy look in his eye and you just know is spoiling for a fight, you don’t flip him off, go outside and tip over his motorcycle.

You try hard not to attract his notice. We need to buy a motorcycle, get a tattoo and when we need to, work up a good “crazy” look.

Now get this: we are sleepwalking into a transportation crisis. As I already said, the airline industry is dying. The price of petroleum-based aviation fuel is killing it. And forget the fantasies about running it on bio-diesel or used french-fry oil. Driving cars will not be an adequate substitute, either. It’s imperative that this country gets serious about restoring the passenger rail system. We can’t not talk about it for another year.

- James Kunstler from his website

Once again, Mr. Kunstler is dead on correct. The airlines are dying, strangling on the reality of post-cheap-oil. Unfortunately, we live in a very large country and are addicted to travel. If you’re in your late 40s (as I am), you may just barely remember a time when air travel was something special, when passengers dressed up and the atmosphere at the airport was a relaxed, comfortable and almost festive one. Flying somewhere was a special event.

Not so anymore, the only place you’ll find shabbier-dressed people in public are at church, if you happen to be (as again, I am) Catholic (but that’s the subject of another post). It’s rush, rush, stand in line for security, rush to put your shoes back on and re-bag your laptop, rush to the gate then stand and wait to board and finally sit and wait to takeoff. It’s seldom a pleasant experience. Why? Because we’re addicted to travel, or more accurately, we’re addicted to cheap and (what we think is) fast transportation.

As Kunstler says in his most recent “Clusterf***k Nation,” date April 21, 2008* (see below), we’re in serious trouble because none of the political candidates are addressing the need for passenger rail service.

I guess my answer to that, is Kunstler’s right everytime he notes that Americans are asleep, and stumbling toward transportation, economic and societal crisis. Our way of life is getting ready to change in a big way, and the end of the cheap petroleum era is the reason.

One way we could protect ourselves, is establishing a crash passenger rail development program, and yes. Normally, I paren a quip after the word “crash,” but in this case, the pun is intended. A crash is coming. A serious, and well-conceived passenger rail development program could dramatically soften the blow to our economy and American life.

* – Unfortunately, Kunstler’s webmaster didn’t design in the ability for Jim to permalink his content, so from here, after next Monday, you’ll have to search a bit to find the article “Blind Spot”, but it’s worth the effort. – ed.