Misplaced Priorities

Oklahoma State Legislator Sally Kern‘s priorities may be just a little bit misaligned.

I could be wrong, of course. She could be right. 1000Gears encourages a very pronounced “love however you wish” sort of philosophy. That last category is unfortunately empty right now, but I’m working on it. It’s a difficult subject for me, as you may imagine. Mrs. Kern presumably comes from a less-libertine background and sees the world through a different lens.

From my side of the argument, given that Americans consume more resources per capita than just about anyone in the world, it might be good for the world if more of us elected to get our collective rocks off in non-reproductive ways. There are several good alternatives for straight-oriented people, too, if you’ll excuse my empty tag again (I have no good excuse for its absence).

From her side of the argument, she believes something about “God’s word” and a fear of indoctrination. I respect that, in my own way. Religion has a tremendous influence on the way we view the world; our interpretations of God’s word shape our priorities and it’s unreasonable to expect us to neglect that. If she feels that Leviticus 20:13 is God’s highest command to her, then I respect this as her personal decision, even if I disagree with the decision itself. For my part, I confess to a weakness for pork, rare steaks, and the occasional shellfish, so I lean more towards Matthew 25:40 myself.

Her opinion, though, remains her opinion, and I respect her right to share it. Personally, given our ham-handed foreign relations, ballooning national waistline, worsening fuel crisis, abysmal trade deficit, and impending credit collapse, it’s a little hard for me to see how a little more safe, sane, and consensual love-and-let-love could be bad for the country. I guess that’s just a matter of priorities.

A Five-Gallon Kindness

When I take long road trips, I bring a gas can with me.

Gas is expensive in big cities, but it’s even more expensive out in the middle of nowhere. A reasonably efficient car can take you a very long way on three or five gallons of gas, and it’s nice not to be held hostage to gas stations on the side of the road. So part of this habit is just good economics.

From time to time you find stranded drivers, out of gas on unfamiliar roads. I’ve coasted from station to station, raiding the dregs left in the hoses, and pulled into an all-night gas stations with the needle scraping bottom, so I know how it can feel. It’s a very uncomfortable, helpless kind of feeling. With a gas can, I can pull over and offer a little assistance. Even if I’m low myself, splitting the can will usually take someone to safety (unless he drives an H2 – then it’s his own fault). I never take money for the fuel, just a promise to buy a gas can and make the roads just a little bit safer, just a little bit friendlier.

Pay it forward.