The summer here in the U.S. is often a time where people take to the road. Whether taking time off from work or enjoying a break from school, people drive to see family and friends or to reach vacation destinations. It can be a fun time of year, and quite warm at times in many place.
It can also be a time for complaining about gas prices.
Being annoyed at the cost of gas is understandable, I suppose. I certainly don’t want to spend as much as I do on gas. The lower the price, the better it is for the average citizen.
That said, most of us pay up anyway. Sure, there is public transportation in some cases, but inevitably we will need to fork over the dough if we want to fuel up that car and get moving. Thus, we will pay since we are dependent on energy. But it doesn’t stop many of us from complaining about how the oil companies and some oil-producing nations are making money hand over fist while we keep paying more and more for gas.
Ok, so they have us over the barrel, so to speak.
To view this “money gouging” in a different light, let’s revisit these summer driving trips. Aside from gasoline, and a working car, what else do you need for a long journey?
How about water?
Sure, it’s possible (though not altogether healthy) to guzzle soft drinks, coffee, tea, or other beverages instead of consuming any water on a long road trip. But water is needed to make those other beverages anyway, right?
Thinking about it more broadly, aside from road trips, we need drinking water every day. We need it to stay hydrated; we need it for our organs, brain, and overall health.
We simply need drinking water. It’s a must-have. Without it, we perish.
Is gas a must-have? Well one could argue that it’s a necessary resource for us to be able to function in today’s world. I would agree, though let’s ask ourselves which resource we would choose if we were only allowed one: gas or water? I would say water, as would each person reading this.
What’s interesting is that water is available to the general public at a very low cost. For just the price of a water bill at home, and a water bottle to carry around, one can have an ample supply of the resource that’s about as valuable any. That’s a pretty good deal, when you think about it.
So, when we complain about the cost of gas, or really any other item – be it a home, car, shoes, airfare or toothpaste – let’s not forget that we are getting the most valuable resource at an incredibly low price.
Who knows, maybe drinking water will be a commodity that’s traded more fervently than gold. Again, going back to the question asking which would you rather have, let’s substitute gold for gas. Would this change your answer? Probably not. You can have all the gold in Fort Knox, but if you don’t have water, you won’t make it.
There is a never-ending demand for clean drinking water, yet here in the U.S., prices are so low. As long as this continues to be the case, we have reason to be thankful.