Is It Pointless to Care About Energy Policy?

Here’s a wonderful video presentation of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire,’ the clever reminder that problems in the world are nothing new, and really nothing to get too concerned over. I infer that this philosophy must be quite dear to him, as he expresses it in many of his songs, e.g., The Angry Young Man:

There’s always a place for the angry young man

With his fist in the air and his head in the sand

He’s never been able to learn from mistakes

So he can’t understand why his heart always breaks

His honor is pure, and his courage as well

He’s fair and he’s true, and he’s boring as hell

And he’ll go to his grave as an angry old man.

….

I do believe I’ve passed the age

Of consciousness and righteous rage

I’ve found that just surviving was a noble fight

I once believed in causes too

I had my pointless point of view

But life went on no matter who was wrong or right.

While this is brilliant stuff, and extremely musical, it’s sickeningly wrong-headed.  I know I’m decidedly unhip, but remember Margaret Mead? She left us with:  “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” And how about Edmund Burke?  He reminded us: “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” Ideas like these may not sell records, but there’s a lot of truth there.

In 2009 and 2010, the oil companies took $500 million, a considerable fortune, yet a tiny sliver of the profits they had retained, and invested it into lobbying Congress against climate change legislation. I don’t use the word “evil” lightly, but it’s more than appropriate here. And labeling this behavior as evil — and trying to do something about it — is not a “pointless point of view.”

I can appreciate the hedonistic viewpoint, and the rock stars who take their riches and party, well, like rock stars.  But I submit that there are other ideals worth pursuing as well.