"High gas prices? That's just what we need!" -- coming from the cover of the Seattle Times, I believe these words capture the great disconnect between reality and radical progressive politics. Writing for the Times, John Talton goes on to educate the uneducated conservative peasants of the world:
"The biggest paradox of the moment is Americans complaining about high gasoline prices while climate change is growing worse. ... Yet carbon — of which Happy Motoring is among the worst offenders — needs to be priced high enough to keep it in the ground instead of burning it into the atmosphere. This is essential to preventing global catastrophe."
Priced high enough to keep it in the ground? Really? How will that work exactly? Setting all facts and logical thinking aside, what is critical to remember, is that John Talton and many others actually believe that driving their cars is destroying the planet. More importantly, they actually believe that you driving your car is destroying the planet too.
By extension, they believe that you are an existential threat to the future of earth.
It does not matter that your or I disagree. It does not matter that world-class scientists disagree. It doesn't matter that higher gas prices are hurting low-income families, driving up the prices of groceries and everything else on the half-bare shelves. It doesn't matter if you want or need to travel for work, or to visit with family and friends. Any such "happy motoring" should be considered selfish and shameful.
All that matters is "preventing global catastrophe." This is a belief that is held with religious conviction, and anyone who challenges The Science or questions the underlying premise is a charlatan who deserves public flogging and humiliation. Worse yet, dissenters are a threat to humanity -- even though they don't yet realize it -- and in order to prevent global catastrophe, dissenters must be dealt with.
