Environmentalists worry about the impact of our quest for oil as an energy resource and talk about preserving the pristine environment. I ask, to what purpose then, do you propose oil exists? To separate geological strata between which it happens to be sandwiched? Oil exists to be used.
Long ago, a great patriot challenged the Tories by admonishing them to make use of the means which the God of Nature provided them. It is a fact of religious belief that true believers know God will not do for us what we ought do ourselves. We are expected to ask him for help, do all we can, and then believe he will make up the difference.
One great tenant now lost to America but which DeToqueville praised in our pioneer spirit was the principle of self-reliance. De Toqueville pointed out that, on the cusp of civilization men were required to use their ingenuity and utilize whatever they could find for their survival. The intrepid pioneers were much akin to the native Americans, whom environmentalists usually laud, using and reusing whatever they had in new and improved ways, knowing that the Wells Fargo Wagon might not bring their Sears and Roebuck order for months or years, assuming the Indians didn’t waylay it.
Many people point to the times of trouble in America. Even now, we have hurricanes bearing down on the nation that threaten the livelihood of our citizens, while some residents of New Orleans still report languishing suffering in their own neighborhoods. Yet, we know that every year hurricanes or storms or earthquakes or floods or snows will interrupt our plans and put us at inconveniences. Between those events, there exists time aplenty in which to live providently and lay up in store, thus making proper use of the means which the God of nature provided us.
Daniel interpreted the dream of Pharaoh, telling him to store up during the seven years of plenty for seven years of subsequent famine. Egypt fed the world for almost a decade because Pharaoh hearkened to Daniel’s counsel. Proper stewardship, which allows us as masters of the planet to use her resources so long as we do not abuse them, demands that we go get the oil, and use it. The world has come to depend on the United States to provide for its needs/wants; without our efforts, most of the rest of the world will slide back into the dark ages and starve. Self-reliance, not self-abasement, is the policy that will bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family(citation).
Besides, if we disarm ourselves by taking ourselves off of oil as a means to save the planet, neighboring nations that envy our power and success will take advantage of the opportunity. China or Russia would love to capitalize on our weakness, conquer our lands, enslave our people, and expend our resources for the aggrandizement of empire, and they won’t care how much they pollute or how many it kills, because this is not their homeland.
If America wishes to be free, she must continue fueling the fires of freedom with fossil fuels.
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