Cobb sees the apocalypse on the horizon. And it’s wearing a cardigan:
These days I'm trying to think back to a time when America had little faith in itself. Back to the days of Billy Jack and the Feral Motorcycle Movie, when inflation was reality, when Iron Eyes Cody cried on the side of the road and when Richard Nixon ran his White House like Russian Roulette. I remember when we used to say that we were going to see the day when we'd have to buy clean air, back when rivers caught fire and women expected to get raped after dark in Times Square. I remember when suddenly we had to drive 55 and the President told us to keep the thermostat at 68. I remember gas lines and people who stole gasoline out of your tank and Pep Boys started selling locking gas caps.
I think we're heading backwards. I think it's because everybody has gone soft and they think we can finesse our difficulties. Not so, people. Not so. Get ready for the second set of the Seventies. I'm preparing.
I’m at about the same place. Optimistically, we’re a smarter and richer society now, so malaise will be more comfortable. And whenever we decide to take our medicine, recovery will come more quickly. But on the flip side, we’re more comfortable, so things can get really bad before we realize inevitable actions need be taken.
Most of us already have locking gas caps now. We can laze around for another hour since that task is done.