Gasoline Prices and the (Evangelical Assisted) Swindle of American Energy Independence

Returning home on Saturday evening, I was just north of Pittsburgh and saw diesel had crossed the $7 a gallon threshold. Regular gas (petrol for some) is pushing $5 a gallon. Pennsylvania pays higher taxes on fuel and unfortunately due to the deep corruption within our Department of Transportation (PennDOT), we don't always see a lot for it. But our poor roads (even poorer in the winter) are another matter. The corruption within Pennsylvania government cannot account for the present crisis in gasoline prices. Many connect the spike to the Trump-Netanyahu decision to attack Iran - but that doesn't really explain it either. Because we were promised by the Right that something else would happen the next time the Middle East blew up.

A few miles later I drove past the exit for Grove City College and I thought about the narratives of the American Right with regard to energy independence. Starting with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin's call for unrestrained drilling, the think-tank 'experts' and media pundits pushed for the maximum exploitation of American petroleum.

That way (it was argued) when the next Middle Eastern war takes place, America will be immune. It will have its own supplies and be unaffected.

Critics decried the ignorance of this argument - one divorced from the realities of the markets and the way Wall Street works. Oil companies are not going to forego profits in order to help the American consumer at the gas pump. Additionally they are already entangled in the apparatus of international markets and their pricing. There are other international agreements connected with trade and the industry, and finally there are the investors and the 'ethics' (in this case a misuse of the term) of maximizing profits for shareholders. For many, a company that would set aside profits for other motives would be guilty of an ethical infraction and subject to lawsuits if not a mass exodus in terms of their stock.

The kind of economic nationalism the Right seems to expect from these companies is more akin to the kind of National Socialist Capitalism of the Third Reich or (in general terms) the pro-regime (and its interests) kind of capitalism one saw in the other fascist regimes and in today's authoritarian states - such as China.

The energy independence argument was farcical from the beginning and I have to believe that anyone who knew even the broad strokes of how the industry works had to know that. In other words the whole thing was a ploy in order to generate profits for the oil companies and a campaign to keep American (and Western society) tied to a fossil fuel economic infrastructure.

But the oil companies also needed prices to go up as the remaining major fields of exploration are harder and thus more costly to exploit. As such prices have to remain above a certain threshold in order to make such investments profitable. It seems they've won from no matter which angle you look at it.
The manipulation of the economy by this industry has been masterful and its agents are everywhere - in Wall Street, in the various state capitols and Washington DC, and (perhaps most importantly) in the media. And as a corollary to the latter we must add the Christian Right and its various parallel media platforms and teaching ministries.

I imagine a fair number of the media figures were ignorant, simply repeating talking points or saying whatever needed to be said in order to keep the pay-checks coming.

But what about in the Church? I'm sure (correction, I know) there was plenty of ignorance as well but it was never presented that way. It was always presented as sanctified common sense, or even an outworking of the dominion mandate (if not put in those exact terms). They relied on 'experts' who are in fact activists and hacks in the pay of the oil industry. The same is true in terms of many 'ministries' which put out materials that appear in the conference circuit, and even in Sunday School materials. And it's not just in Evangelical circles but in Confessional circles as well.

Ignorance is no excuse but again, so often they presented this information as unassailable and called on 'experts' to back up their claims. If they were just making unsubstantiated claims, they are guilty of bearing false witness. But I think it's often much worse - a case of knowing and willing collaboration and thus corruption.

I have long argued the Evangelical movement has adopted Consequentialist Ethics - the end justifies the means. It's okay to play fast and loose with the truth if it serves the greater good. In some cases they know their audiences and the people in the pews are ignorant and rather than make complicated arguments, it's more expedient to just frame things in a way that produces the wanted result, even if it means the presentation is less than transparent or honest.

What this means is this - sometimes it's okay to lie if it serves the greater good.

Warren Throckmorton (ironically a retired professor from Grove City) has pointed this out in reference to 'ministries' like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. They have false information on their websites regarding the supposed Christian nature of the American Founding. When challenged, they admit the information is dubious or disproved, but they find it beneficial or expedient to leave it up. In other words, the lies are useful to their purposes and serve their agenda.

In other words they are scam artists. For all their talk of Christian Worldview, they don't even know what it is. They have no idea what it means to bear witness. In fact they're not interested in it. They're only interested in power and will lie, cheat, steal, and even kill to get it. These organisations have played the cheerleader for wars and they have blood on their hands. This is especially true when it comes to some of these colleges and certainly with think-tanks like The Heritage Foundation - a den of Satanic deception and evil policy when it comes to foreign affairs, military stratagems, and economics.

Right now I'm sure Trump and his media allies are desperately trying to find a way to spin the price of fuel. Ironically that next Middle Eastern War they hoped not to be affected by - is one they started. They continue to lie and suggest that Iran was only days from a nuclear weapon (sometimes even a noo-kyoo-lur weapon too!). Or they try and blame allies for refusing to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which sometimes (depending on the moment or the network asking the question) is already open (according to the Evangelical-adored prevaricator in chief).

In recent days there has been an attempt to blame China for it all. Xi is certainly laughing, but Beijing is not to blame. In fact the Chinese Establishment is repeatedly bewildered by American folly in the Middle East and the way Trump has within just a few short years degraded American power by several magnitudes. Of course the Chinese are also aware of the Pentagon-White House cover-up regarding just how badly it has gone for the Americans and their bases in the region - not to mention the way in which their alliances across the Middle East will likely be downgraded in the years to come. Washington's performance vis-à-vis Iran has not proven to be very impressive. The war has only raised Tehran's standing in the region.

The MAGA media has got less than two months to come up with a narrative. The Cal Thomas and Erick Erickson-type arguments that try to shame the citizenry for their feebleness and unwillingness to sacrifice (like the 'Greatest Generation') hasn't worked. Of course if Obama or Biden were president, these same deceitful scoundrels would be crying foul and calling for impeachment, and a treason trial.

We can only hope that someday American Christians will realize that so many of the ministries (radio, print, and Internet) that they've counted on are not what they seem. Many are just spiritual mercenaries, hired guns, paid agents of a larger political machine - in other words they are modern day Balaams. They're not interested in New Testament teaching, they hate Christ, and history for them is only something to be manipulated.

Driving by Grove City my head spun.

The fact that some of the people involved in this work and these think tanks also serve as elders in local Confessional congregations is enough to make my stomach turn. And for the radio networks (like AFR, FLN, and VCY) that give a platform to these Balaams - they have led countless people astray (in the name of Christ) and they will answer for it at the Judgment.