"The American is a funny person," he recalled. "He worships the result of things that are big, economies of scale, mass production, but he hates anything that is big and powerful, and the oil industry is seen as the biggest and most powerful industry"

From:
The Prize
The Epic Quest for Oil, Money,& Power
By Daniel Yergin
Page 692

Note: This book is a fantastic read
about the influence that oil has had on the US and world economy in the past 100-150 years.