Play it Again

In the late seventies, I attended college--a fine liberal establishment that cost a bundle.

Economically, those were dark days.

1. Gas had doubled overnight, because the United States supported Israel during the 1973 October War.
2. Tricky Dick Nixon had imposed wage/price controls and established a new federal agency called the EPA. Talk about bad ideas.
3. Jerry Ford promoted his WIN button (Wip Inflation Now) as if happy thoughts could rally the economy.
4. Jimmy Carter wrapped himself in a ratty cardigan and spoke of a national malaise. LOSER! (Green Bay Packer fans thought he said mayonnaise.)

It is hard to believe the country survived long enough to elect Reagan.

Anyway my little pea brain was being crammed full of notions like Limits of Growth and the Club of Rome. If they had been right, we'd all be living in huts today and starving to death.

I was having pizza with my dad, and I told him, " The world was going to run out of oil by 1984." Or "We're going to have by really small cars so we conserve our way to prosperity."

Dad gave me one of those you-poor-senseless-bugger looks, and probably wondered at the heady chunks of money he was coughing up for tuition.

I might tell you he calmly explained things to me, but Dad never explained anything calmly (he was Italian and needed to use his hands).

"Puss [he had many names for me, everything from schnook to pussycat]," he said, "the world has had a five year supply of oil for last 80 years." Point: We're not going run out of anything by 1984.

"Conservation is a nutty idea, technology will lead us out of the current problem."

Technology? I wondered if the Luddite profs in PolySci Department had thought about that. Obviously not, because the same tunnel-vision moles are saying the same things today.

By the way, one of those Luddites was the late Paul Wellstone.

Dad was right and my profs were wrong, and you know what, Dad is still right: Technology and ingenuity will see us thru this current rough spot.