Our Friends, the Saudis

Here’s a discussion on the subject of electric transportation.  My friend Paul Scott, co-founder of Plug-In America, posted the photo here of two Yemenis, and challenged us to stop funding the brutality and terrorism that is the stock in trade of Saudi Arabia, simply by ceasing to buy gasoline.  He writes:

Saudi Arabia is a powerful nation because they sell a lot of oil to the U.S. and most of the rest of the world. They make hundreds of billions each year, and spend it on weapon systems to keep themselves protected from revolt within, and attack from without. Without this money, they cannot do these things.

The solution is to stop buying gasoline for your car. Electric cars, powered by clean electricity, are the most efficient, cleanest methods of personal transportation. They are also affordable for most who drive cars. Instead of commiserating on Facebook, take action. Resolve to end your consumption of oil to the greatest extent possible. This is how we win against these people. We cannot win by whining about a problem that we are helping to maintain.

Nice, Paul.

Of course you could urge the United States to cease its support of Saudi Arabia, as they torture and execute dissidents, and (literally) chop up journalists, but don’t hold your breath.  If you harbor some sort of fantasy that the United States is a morally good country, you need to get over it.  What we do is what’s good for our moneyed interests. If that happens accidentally to benefit the common American and the local people, that’s fine. If not, we couldn’t care less.