Man, I was happy last week when GM announced the Hummer brand would soon bite the dust. To me the vehicle was one of our country’s biggest embarrassments. It was so out there, a rolling embodiment of consumerism, me-centeredness of Americans, and lack of respect for creation.

What possessed GM to build this albatross in the first place? And why do people need to drive on paved, safe streets and roads in vehicles designed for the army? Does the ability to impress friends and neighbors justify gas guzzling?

I’m not a rampant environmentalist. I’m not a tree hugger, a member of PETA or of the Sierra Club. But I do recycle, use cloth shopping bags, buy local when possible, and drive a car that gets great gas milage. But every time I see a Hummer on the road, I get spitting mad because the person driving it has just cancelled out all my ecological efforts with one trip to the grocery store.

So the GM announcement about the Chinese business reneging on their bid for the  Hummer brand made me smile. Maybe there’s hope, I thought. Twenty-four hours later, that hope dimmed a bit when the car company announced other undisclosed suitors were waiting in the wings.

Apparently the suitors are embarrassed to admit their identity. They should be. Hummer needs to die, and it needs to die soon. Until it does, we’re painted with the brush of excessive consumerism and lack of foresight. I’d like to get rid of that image. Wouldn’t you?