New rule: The only people allowed to comment on my choice of vehicle are people who drive hybrids and people who drive bicycles.
I drive a mini-SUV, which evidently puts me in the same category as people who are conspiring to cause global strife for their own selfish benefit. The thing is, my "SUV" gets between 24 and 28 miles per gallon - and 36 mpg on a really good road trip. This is far less than the average sedan, and people tooling around in 6-cylinder Camrys have absolutely no right to hiss and call me an SUV-driving, ugly american. What's ugly is a lack of critical thinking skills. We got ourselves into a global conundrum with mindless rhetoric, finger pointing and lack of analysis. How exactly are we going to correct matters through mindless rhetoric, finger pointing and lack of analysis?
I chose my vehicle because I wanted to be able to fill it with camping gear, servers or my personal belongings on moving day without having to borrow a truck or moving van. I wanted to transport 2-4 people, and I most of all I wanted fuel economy. The amount of extra weight expended on making my car truck-like is almost cancelled out by the fact that its slightly larger tires require fewer turns to cover any distance. I walk and bike often, take the bus when I can and I drive fewer than 3,000 miles a year while using less than 150 gallons of gas.
I feel good about the choices I make, and the fact that my car has no trunk doesn't automatically make me a Bush voter. Meanwhile, I'll bet there are self-righteous liberal-minded people out there right now selecting gas guzzling luxury sedans and praising themselves for not becoming one of those evil SUV drivers.
I'm all for passing judgment on people, but when can we do it analytically instead of categorically?