As this country goes bonkers over $4-per-gallon gasoline, it would seem a good time for a sober discussion about our near-total dependence on one unsustainable mode of transport. But as modern Americans, we generally prefer whining to introspection. And when whining doesn’t work, well, there’s always prayer.

Enter Rocky Twyman, a choir director and PR guy who, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports, has tapped into the national zeitgeist by arranging "pray-ins" at gas stations from DC to California.

"God is the only one we can turn
to at this point," said Twyman, 59. "Our leaders don’t seem to be able
to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring."

To solve the problem, Twyman
isn’t begging the Lord for any specific act of intervention. He is not
asking God to make OPEC pump more oil. Nor is he praying for all the
speculative investors to be purged from the New York Mercantile
Exchange, where crude oil is traded.

Instead, he says anyone who wants to follow his example should keep it simple.

"God, deliver us from these high gas prices," Twyman said. "That’s all they have to say."

It’s just that simple, folks.

At least Twyman is also encouraging people to alter their driving habits by carpooling and, yes, even walking. This is more than can be said for most of our current crop of pandering pols. Cue Madame Speaker:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, on Thursday asked President Bush to stop filling the strategic oil reserve. And on Friday, she called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the oil market is being manipulated.

And can we get an "Amen" from the Clinton chorus?

God help us all.

Photo: San Francisco Chronicle