Some people do need a truck. Try doing carpentry work out of the back of a compact car, or hauling firewood in a hatchback. However, most people that have them don't have them because they really need them, but rather its because they like driving them. In their case, I agree, its ridiculous to drive a gas guzzler then bitch about the price of gas (especially considering that by driving a gas guzzler you are part of the problem when it comes to high gas prices). I used to drive a 4wd Crew Cab Colorado. I always liked driving trucks and they fit with my lifestyle in that it was easy to throw fishing equipment in the back, a canoe on it, throw my road bike in it and so on. Plus the 4wd was nice in the snow and when I needed to get up a jeep road to a trail head. However, when gas started getting really expensive I traded in the truck for a little Kia Soul. I got literally twice the mpg, have plenty of space to throw stuff in the back like fishing equipment or my road bike, and if I need to get up a poorly maintained forest service road to a trailhead I just drive my wife's Subaru. I still liked driving trucks better, but its not enough to justify the piss poor mpg they get.
As a side note, my Kia Soul actually has better crash test ratings than my truck did, and being it stops much quicker its probably a safer vehicle to drive.