There are times when I really wonder how the “Ruling Class”
looks at the rest of us in the “Country Class”.
When I think about the ridiculous number of regulations that have been
imposed upon the American people by our governing agents, I sense a genuine
lack of respect for the people by the rulers.
Or, in plain English, they must think that we are dumber than a box of
rocks. Maybe I am old-fashioned, or just
being contrary, but I really don’t think that how much water my toilet uses per
flush needs to be regulated by state and federal agencies. I’m just saying . . .
The most recent example of government over reach was
reported recently by Channel 5 News in Los Angeles, out in “the land of fruits
and nuts.” According to the news
report, “Energy Star”, a program administered by the US Department of Energy
and the Environmental Protection Agency, that is supposed to advise us dummies
of how to save energy, save money and improve the environment. (Read “Save the Planet!”)
Am I the only one who finds a magnificent irony in ANY
federal agency providing information on saving money??? Am I the only one who thinks it is absurd
that the US Department of Energy has never produce a single joule of energy for
the American people? Does anyone else ever
wonder about how much authority we have given unelected bureaucrats in the EPA?
But I digress. Now,
this latest suggestion from our “betters” is that we should set our air conditioning
thermostats at 78 degrees when we are at home and to turn them up to 85 degrees
when we leave the house and set them at 82 degrees when we go to bed at night.
Okay. Yeah, right.
There was a time when my house was 78 degrees when I was in
the house. It was before we had air
conditioning. I lived in very few houses
that were comfortable in the summer without air conditioning. We’d have a fan or two in every room, but all
they did was move hot air. Being in the
house only offered relief from being out in the sun. I don’t really want to live that way again.
And, the thought of sleeping in a room that is 80 degrees is
almost more than I care to imagine. I
sleep better in cooler air. It has been
that way all of my life. I remember
sleeping out in the yard as a kid because it was too hot to sleep in the
house. I’m too old to sleep on the
ground now and packing a cot in and out of the house every night and morning
does not sound inviting either. And, I
am sure that my neighbors would not appreciate me sleeping the yard. Along the street. In South Bethlehem. Just sayin’.
As miserably uncomfortable as many of us would find these
temperatures, do we really think that the wonks at Energy Star keep their houses
this hot in the summer? I am pretty sure
that the people who made these recommendations don’t follow them. After all, they are our “betters”, aren’t
they?
There’s a couple of things about this news article that bother
me. First, why in the name of bright,
sunny days is our federal government wasting money on “Energy Star” when we are
$25 trillion dollars in debt? Where in the
Constitution is authorization for this Energy Star program? Why is this money being wasted?
It also annoys me that anybody would have the audacity to
tell anyone else how warm or how cool to keep their house. Where in the world do people get the idea
that they have the right to tell other people how to live? Why would anyone want to tell someone else
how to live? I simply don’t understand
that – I have no point of reference for wanting to order another free,
sovereign adult around. It amazes me
that anyone would want to.
I think what annoys me the most about this, is that our government
has programs designed for people to tell other people how to live their
lives. I mean, seriously. How have we gotten so far off track that we have
government wonks running around telling how high we should set our air
conditioners, how long it is “safe” to leave our Thanksgiving turkeys out on
the counter, and zillion other regulations, rules, suggestions, and
guidelines. All of this on top of the “billions
and billions and billions” that we spend on public education.
Maybe I am asking too much, but I would like to think that
by the time our kids are ready to go out on their own, they know that how much
they run their air conditioners in the summer and how hot they keep their
places in the winter will impact how much heating and cooling costs. Do we really need public service
announcements and tv news casts every holiday about leaving our turkeys out too
long? (I wonder how blown away some of
these folks would be if they knew that farm families years ago might leave the turkey
out in a cool room until it was picked clean, and lived to tell about it!!)
There was a time in our country when we lived and let
live. There was a time when we minded
our own business and let other people mind theirs. There was a time when we understood that
individual liberty was just that; the right to live your life as you wanted as
long as you didn’t hurt anyone else. I’d
like to see those days return. I’d like
to see our people be free again and to respect the freedoms of others.
I hope it’s not too much to ask for
