High gas prices... is America hurting?

Grist writes: "Rising oil prices send lawmakers into frenzy of empty gestures. The American public will take lots of things lying down -- inaction on climate change, ill-conceived wars, erosion of civil liberties -- but expensive gas? Hell no!"
But are Americans really hurting? Well, this past weekend the kid next door in my very middle-class suburban community spent the entire weekend tearing around the neighborhood in an ATV, belching blue smoke, presumably preparatory to tearing up the forests with it. A guy across the street left his car engine and car air conditioner running for over half an hour while his car was parked in front of the house with his dog in the car (Outside air temperatures were 65F). If this is how much we're hurting, we need to hurt some more!
Nations across the world have had higher petrol prices for decades. Sure, most of those high prices go towards taxes and some advocate similar taxes here to curb demand. But if my neighborhood is any indication, I don't see this happening anytime soon and given how the govt.spends my tax dollars, do I care if Lee Raymond (outgoing Exxon CEO) gets a heart attack guzzling my money or Haliburton?