Oil spill 'blame game' needs to start at home

I'd like to join the blame game that has come to define our national approach to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

This isn't the fault of BP or Transocean. It's not the government's fault. It's my fault. I'm the one to blame and I'm sorry.

It's my fault because I haven't digested the world's in-your-face hints that maybe I ought to think about the future and change the unsustainable way I live my life.

If the geopolitical, economic, and technological shifts of the 1990s didn't do it; if the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, didn't do it; if the current economic crisis didn't do it; perhaps this oil spill will be the catalyst for me, as a citizen, to wean myself off of my petroleum-based lifestyle.

"Citizen" is the key word. It's what we do as individuals that counts.

For those on the left, government regulation will not solve this problem. Government's role should be to create an environment of opportunity that taps into the innovation and entrepreneurialism that define us as Americans.

For those on the right, if you want less government and taxes, then decide what you'll give up and what you'll contribute.

Here's the bottom line: If we want to end our oil addiction, we, as citizens, need to pony up -- bike to work, plant a garden, do something.

The oil spill is my fault. I'm sorry. I haven't done my part. Now I have to convince my wife to give up her SUV.

Mark Mykleby

Beaufort