When We Buy Oil From Saudi Arabia, We Support Their Tyranny Over Women
If you use Twitter, you might want to avoid going there for vacation.
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I read a really scary story the other day. Saudi Arabia has just sentenced a woman to 34 years in prison for using Twitter. While studying for a degree in the UK, she was an active user, sharing her opinions about human rights on Twitter. She made the mistake of going home for a vacation where she was arrested and tried.
Her original sentence was six years, and that was increased to 34 years after losing her appeal. And when she’s done serving her prison sentence, she must suffer a travel ban of another 34 years.
The world buys oil from the Saudis. We buy oil from them, too. That oil keeps them wealthy, and it keeps the tyrants in power. We sell them weapons to keep their kingdom running. To support their wars. To keep the price of oil low. Well, lower than it is now.
I am fascinated with the way that both political parties are so quiet about Saudi Arabia. They have both been lured in by the monopolists. They are remarkably silent about our unintended support of the monarchy in Saudi Arabia.
That woman sent to prison over Twitter? That’s just what we see in the news. I’ve read one story about a woman who was killed after trying to escape Saudi Arabia. Their laws still permit the death penalty for adultery, witchcraft, and performing magic. It is a wonder that a conviction for such crimes requires two male witnesses. Women cannot even be counted as a witness.
When I look around my country, I see that the men and women who claim to be so concerned with the right to life of a fetus have almost nothing to say about what goes on in Saudi Arabia. I have to wonder why they have not marshaled our resources to conserve as much oil as possible. Why haven’t they adopted the proposed plans of one Amory Lovins to wean our nation, and even the world off of oil to save the lives of those women?
If we wean ourselves off of oil, we deprive the government of Saudi Arabia of at least some of the money they need to keep their little corner of civilization running. And when I say we, I mean, the world. I’ve noticed an interesting correspondence between tyranny…
