So Obama comes out with a very detailed policy on energy, which includes many positives like a focus on alternative energy sources and  a few negatives like his ridiculous bow to public sentiment on off-shore drilling.

There is much to talk about and educate ourselves on here, but alas we seem mired down once again in a flurry of bad coverage. Part of Obama's energy policy stresses the need for Americans to take steps to reduce energy consumption. The McCain campaign immediately attacked, suggesting that Obama's entire policy came down to making sure Americans had tire pressure gauges.

Leaving aside for the moment the absolutey ridiculous notion that Obama's plan lacks depth or detail, I think it is a shame that his emphsasis on personal responsibility has been so ridiculed.

The reality is that if we are going to change the direction of the future we will all have to change the way we live. We can't know from here what a truly sustainable life will look like. But we do know that there are many things we can be doing to start taking steps toward it, including ensuring proper maintance of our cars and tires.

We are indeed in the midst of a generational challenge, and when the stakes are this high, we can't afford to let cynicism get in our way. Just inflating your tires won't reverse global warming; it wasn't just victory gardens that won the war. But they were a step towarding maintaining and caring for and sustaining the country, states, and towns that we loved. A personal act of conservation, planting victory gardens became a national project, and was one among many of the things that held people together during a different generation challenge.

I only decided to vote for Obama because I appreciated his emphasis on OUR role in political and civic life. I'd like to see the campaign re-gain control of this message and start inspiring Americans like it did in the primary. Americans are hard workers if nothing else, and we have proven time and again that we respond to a challenge.

So I have resolved to check my tire pressure regularly, and make sure my neighbors are in on it too.

Peace OUT! :)

Ruth