And so it begins.
Down in the bowels of the giants of warehouse discounters, rice is now being rationed to buyers in the United States. And, as we continue to pour more corn into our gas tanks, perhaps corn might be next.
Many Americans may still be in denial over the coming changes in our non-negotiable lifestyle, but those fantasies took a head high shot to the chops last week when Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal, the daily ragsheet of capitalism, urged Americans to start hoarding food.
No it’s not the complete end of life as we know it, but you can see it from here.
Perhaps the biggest shock to the American consciousness may be the realization that, in the global economy we were sold with such fanfare, rice riots in faraway countries of which we know nothing do have an impact right here.
Not that you’ll hear any of the three major candidates talking about the rationing of grain, nor about peak oil or any of the environmental daggers pointed at the heart of our lifestyle by global climate change.
And if they do speak about it all, they espouse the naïve belief that technology and free markets will ultimately save us from ourselves.
Those who have followed the issues of resource depletion and climate change and have read the works of Richard Heinberg and James Howard Kunstler can only shake our heads.
To say “we told you so” might seem a bit cruel as all this unfolds, but nevertheless, if North American society is to survive with some modicum of decency, it’s time for people to educate themselves and demand action from their elected leaders.
My fear is that most Americans, even those in the know on these issues, have given up on political solutions. And down here, that means stockpiling guns and grains for the coming Armageddon.
The worst aspect about all of this will, at least early in the depletion process, not be the physical coping aspects of $4/litre gasoline or $8/bag milk but the psychological ones.
I have always maintained that the species homo Americanus is most dangerous when they realize they are not going to be able to afford not only their toys but also some of their basic necessities.
They are going to be mad and they will want to blame and punish someone. What is to be determined is who that someone will be and how they will be punished.
In any case, most people continue to view the election in a rather detached sort of way, not really believing that any of the candidates are going to do much for them anyway.
Perhaps the most visible damage has been done to Barack Obama and the people who sallied forth under his banner of hope over a year ago. They and their youthful enthusiasm have largely been eaten away by the relentless grinding of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the media.
Now Obama no longer appears so fresh and hopeful but gritty and sullen, stalked by continual media references to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. This bodes very ill for the American body politic who had placed so much hope in this man. Now he’s just another victim of the machine.
At some point, the façade of the American Dream will come crashing down and our politicians will be faced with having to tell us the truth in frank, Churchillian terms. Whether people will have the fortitude to hear it or not and not turn on each other remains to be seen.
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