SUVS - An example of Values based cheating

The unregulated roots of the current economic crisis coincides not remarkably with the unregulated advent of the SUV. This is a case study in the unsustainability of putting personal values above public ethics. Folks may think a SUV represents family values and safety, but the true hallmark of the SUV that differentiates it from a car is cheating, plain and simple. SUVS cheat on fuel efficiency and emissions standards, often burning twice as much oil and creating twice as much global warming as a car, to go the same distance with the same number of occupants. SUVS cheat on safety standards with high-set bumpers, oversized tires, and overweight mass that cause SUV's to gain safety at the expense of cars in SUV-car collisions. SUVS look 'good' only if one is willing to put self-centered values above shared safety and shared interests in keeping oil consumption, global warming, and costs down.

So the perfect storm of economic crisis and oil crisis is no coincidence, and in fact the SUV is a major contributor to both. The most important thing an SUV owner can do is fess up to the fact that no good comes from cheating on everyone else in the name of family values, and then to do something about it. A good start would be to vote for fair public leaders and programs that implement fair shared regulations on safety, emissions, and mileage, not just self-serving (and unsustainable) values.