And the numbers tell the story. At the end of last year, Freedom House, which tracks democratic trends and elections around the globe, noted that 2007 was by far the worst year for freedom in the world since the end of the cold war. Almost four times as many states — 38 — declined in their freedom scores as improved — 10.Friedman offers up the point that this decrease in democracy and freedom is inversely correlated with the price of oil, which doesn't seem completely baseless. I know that the democratic recession that is occuring in Russia should probably be of more concern to America and the West than it has been.
So, if the price of oil rising decreases democracy and freedom, we should want to do our best to lower the price of oil, right? Unfortunately, we have our love for oil and it may just be more than our love for democracy and freedom...
Friedman ties this all back to the 2008 election (which for the next 6 months will be mandatory) with a snippet of why the gas tax holiday is crazy...
But we also need to do everything possible to develop alternatives to oil to weaken the petro-dictators. That’s another reason the John McCain-Hillary Clinton proposal to lift the federal gasoline tax for the summer — so Americans can drive more and keep the price of gasoline up — is not a harmless little giveaway. It’s not the end of civilization, either.
It’s just another little nail in the coffin of democracy around the world.
8 comments:
If you want to entirely stop importing oil from the Persian Gulf, we can easily do that. In fact, we could have done that decades ago.
The only problem is that your fellow “Donkeys” have spent the last 30 years doing everything possible to ensure that we continue to rely upon Middle East dictators for the energy which drives our economy.
Click the link:
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Domestic Energy Potential
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On a related topics:
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CO2 is Not a Problem
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The Ethanol Debacle
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It doesn't matter if I want to entirely stop importing oil from the Middle East (which I don't know that I do), because it isn't feasible. Energy independence is a crock of crap... Energy security is a differenct story and should be the primary focus of our planning.
AM Donkey,
Did you read my first link and the substantiating evidence?
Do you have any specific comments on those facts and figures?
sbvor,
I will review the links you provided in more detail later, though a quick perusal does show some interesting data.
I would point out that I am a Donkey flying solo -- so, I'm not quite sure who you mean by my fellow donkeys?
AM Donkey sez:
"I'm not quite sure who you mean by my fellow donkeys"
I suspect you know that I mean your fellow Democrats (and/or fellow Leftists).
One need only examine your list of preferred sources to reach that obvious conclusion.
sbvor,
I'm not sure how linking to the Conservative book service proves much about my political persuasion, but anyway.
I don't deny that I have a liberal perspective on many issues, but I truly feel I come to an issue with an open mind. Your blog is interesting, and I look forward to keeping up with your endeavor. I would recommend a comments section.
I will attempt to get a post up soon regarding some of the information / arguments made regarding energy independence...
AM Donkey,
I'm not questioning your objectivity, merely noting my perception of your political leanings. Thus far, your dialog seems reasonable and, as you say, "open mind[ed]".
I am new to blogging. I will enable comments as soon as I figure out how to do that without exposing my e-mail address. The template I chose (wide enough to accommodate the graphics I chose) exposes my e-mail address when I enable comments.
If you have not yet read the book I previously linked to, you owe it to yourself to get the scoop from a self-described "Liberal Democrat" on just how biased your preferred sources are. IMO, these sources have indoctrinated you into a world view that is not at all objective or accurate.
You will notice that I rarely cite so-called "journalists" to substantiate anything. I have virtually no respect for that so-called "profession".
AM Donkey,
I've enabled comments.
Thanks for the suggestion.
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