What ever happened to the Americans of World War II who were willing to sacrifice for their country, Bill Maher asks in When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden. The attitude today seems to be, "I'll use as much gas as I want, screw you and your Victory Garden, too." Not one person in a leadership position has asked that we sacrifice something. Jimmy Carter was practically crucified when he asked people to turn down their thermostats. The attitude seems to be, "Shop till you drop," and "Thanks for traveling." Self-promotion and greed rule the day. In the meantime we become more and more indebted to the Middle East and a slave to foreign oil. We ask nothing of our leaders and in return ask that they return the favor.
The book is now a little dated -- it was published before the invasion of Iraq, but many of his comments are worthy of serious thought. Labeling him a liberal is perhaps misguided as he's really more of a progressive libertarian, but most labels are balderdash anyway. Maher is a funny satirist who needs to be taken seriously.
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