Are we doomed to repeat history?

One definition of insanity is to repeat the same procedures and to expect a different result. Apparently the Republicans, and some Democrats, in Congress believe either that the American public is stupid or insane.

The mantra, "drill now," can be heard not just in Congress, but across the country. Is it possible all the folks chanting this mantra have somehow not realized that we have been drilling for quite a few years now, and this is where it's gotten us? Is it possible that all of the folks chanting this mantra have no concern for the future of the planet, our children and grandchildren?

Even the politicians chanting this mantra admit whatever results do come from this course of action will not be seen for five to 10 years. They also admit the impact on our energy circumstances will be minuscule at best.

But in the Republican tradition of fear mongering, they throw out the phrase of freedom from foreign oil. Even stalwart Republican pundits say that this is a ludicrous objective if we are talking about oil. As long as we focus on oil, and Exxon-Mobil and others ship the oil from this country to the places where their profits - historic, record-breaking profits - will be maximized, no amount of drilling will change the future for our children and grandchildren.

The Bush administration has already taken a surplus and turned it into bankrupting our children and grandchildren before they have a chance. Do we need to ensure their future is riddled with environmental nightmares as well?

Apparently McCain and company think so.

Thanks to offshore dulling, overfishing and other environmental recklessness, we already have dead zones in the ocean. Dead zones. Large areas in the ocean that are capable of sustaining only microbial life forms. Maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty sure when the Creator made the oceans, they were teeming with life. Is this the stewardship all those "Christians" speak of with respect to the planet? Is this the care we're taking of the planet God entrusted us with?

If offshore drilling is the answer, then the questions must be: How can we ensure our children inherit a toxic wasteland that distracts them from the fact they are bankrupt? How can we ensure that the folks in big oil are able to perpetuate their record profits? What is the best way to ensure that our tax dollars continue to subsidize the oil companies' profits?

Of course, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the McCain camp is right. Maybe more drilling is the answer to the energy and environmental crisis which we arrived at by a dependence not on foreign oil, but on an oil-based energy policy. Maybe insanity is the answer. Maybe, but I doubt it.

Edward J. Herdrich

Elgin