Some would say it's our government's fault, while others would say it is the oil companies desire to get rich that has caused one to take a loan out every time we fill our gas tanks.  Though in part I agree that they have there place for the blame, I believe there is another culprit who needs to take some responsibility for these high costs.  

Mostly I blame us for not being more economical in our driving.  How often are you stuck in a traffic jam and 90% of the vehicles only have one passenger?  What a waste of energy and space on our highways.  Though safety should be most important I believe if more people drove compact cars and or motor cycles there would be more room on highways and less of a demand at the pump.  One of the biggest reasons people say they purchase a large vehicle is for safety.  Seems logical, though from seeing the effects of an 140 crash my best friend was in while driving a bug which collided with a SUV I can't say bigger is better.  After a year of the accident she is walking and he (suv driver) is still in bad shape.  Though I'm not an economist nor a environmentalist, I do understand the idea of good stewardship.  Just because we have it today doesn't mean it will be there tomorrow.  Government spends millions upon millions of dollars fixing and updating highways.  If there were less vehicles or just less large vehicles there would less wear and tear on the highways.  Our own comfort and or privacy seems to be more important than government spending or ever our own.  I thought by owning an E85 vehicle that I wouldn't be subjected to these inflated gas prices.  80% or more of the time ethanal fuel is more expensive than gas.  I'm only assuming cost is inversely proportional to the government subsidies the cost for making the fuel less as Gas prices increase.  Meaning the higher oil is the less they pay to keep E85 competitive.  But I digress.

Besides the use of more economical vehicles to cut costs one can also take advantage of car pooling.  What if you took every one person car and put them with another person driving.  Half of the vehicles would no longer be trying to squeeze their way to work.
One thing I like about driving in California, probably the only, is that there are commuter lanes.  The vehicle has to have more than one occupant to be in that lane.  If more states would give incentives for car pooling I believe you would see major drop in gas prices as well drive time to get to destinations.  As far as safety goes; less cars, less targets to hit.

Mass transportation would be another great asset to fighting the gas price war.  Unfortunately public transportation, at least in my area, seems to more of hassle and expense that most people do not want to bother with if they have other means of transportation.  For example I travel an average of 40 minutes to get to work (in traffic).  If I were to take public transportation I would travel close to 1 hour and half with more than a mile of a walk.  Not that walking is that bad of an idea but to someone who is disabled, this would be a concern.

I don't pretend to have all the answers but I do believe the we as Americans do have the ability to make some changes which would have a positive affect on this and many other problems. 

Victims are hunted by their problems, leaders create solutions.

 

A very common word associated with emotions is feelings. So lets take a moment and discuss what a feeling is. The bottom line definition to feelings is a perception one undergoes in response to an experience. One may first notice that the definition is pretty broad, which is my point about feelings. Feelings are designed to motivate you to do something. For instance when you put your hand on a hot bar-b-que you feel the heat and perceive it as uncomfortable so you remove your hand. Through out our lives we continue to learn associations with other stimuli. When on accomplishes a great task, you feel a surge in energy, your heart pumps faster, and your thoughts are focused on the task having been accomplished. Feelings are important they empower us to rectify a wrong and serve us when we cross a moral line. So feelings are good, right? Not exactly good but maybe important. Let's look at a different perspective, say one has lost most of the nerve endings in his hand and he puts his hand on the hot barbeque grill. His feelings (in his hands) may tell him that it feels good because it takes a lot of heat to allow him to feel any warmth. The problem is the energy dissipating from the grill is starting to burn his skin but he can't feel it. Or take a nervous stomach for instance. If one comes to associate the jitters and a churning stomach as being nervousness one could easily mistake a reaction to food or some other chemical as nervousness when it is actually a physical reaction. Unfortunately we have been trained by the media and others to follow our feelings. But sometimes what we think are legitimate feelings are actually the bodies reaction to something entirely different. Take for instance a person who desires peace in their life but never feels like they enter in to it. When you examine their life you find out that the person drinks and enormous amount of caffeinated beverages causing her to feel anxious most of the time. Another aspect concerning our emotions is our thought life. Victor Franko who was imprisoned in a concentration camp during the holocaust was able escape becoming a victim of his circumstance because of the freedom he found inside his mind. "One can't take away your dignity unless you give it to him," he stated. Our thoughts dictate how we feel. If we think negative thoughts our attitude becomes negative. If we think positive thoughts we have a better outlook on life. We must capture our thoughts and think of things which our edifying. I suggest that you create a list of all things that bring you joy and are thankful for. Keep a constant surveillance of your thoughts and when they begin to judge others, begin a pity party or dwell on any negative experience, cast it down and begin to go through your list of "positive thinking." After much practice this will become your everyday attitude. We can't go on letting our "feelings" dictate our decisions. Even at their best emotions only give you part of the story. One has to examine the facts and all the angles before making a proper judgement.