Desert Power

On this second day of the new year we were all greeted by a fun piece of news about the price of oil. They say that for part of the day oil was finally selling for $100 a barrel on the market. I decided to fill up my tank today in anticipation of a rise in gas prices. I thought I was clever until I saw the line at the pump at the nearest UDF.

As I looked at news broadcasts about it on TV and listened to radio reports, my mind went to an odd place. I thought about a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert that was first published in 1966. The book is called Dune.

(I know, I know. Unbearably nerdy. Hear me out though.)

During one of the awkward silences while Terron Austin (president of UCABJ) and I were in Detroit last November, I tried to explain how innovative the novel was. I told him the book featured space travel and futuristic gadgets like a lot of other science fiction. But these things were just plot devices in a story that was really about imaginary (but strangely familiar) political intrigue. I knew it was time to shut up when Terron gave me one of those looks that said, "I'm listening because I'm courteous, not because I'm remotely interested."

It's a complicated story, but as it relates to oil and journalism, I'll just highlight the role of a fictional substance called "the spice melange." In the universe of Dune, spice is central to the economy and modern life in general partly because it is absolutely necessary for transportation. In all of the galaxy, spice comes from only one planet called Arrakis. Arrakis is only of interest to most people in the galaxy because of the spice. In all other respects it is a barren wasteland - rain never falls on the entire desert planet (hence the nickname "Dune"). The various power players in the galaxy have long engaged in Machiavellian maneuvers against each other to gain political and economic control of Arrakis.

The rich and powerful make war, colonize, backstab, make agreements and break treaties over Arrakis. Every time something changes in the political situation on Arrakis, the elites try to figure out a way to capitalize on it and the rich contemplate the impact it will have on the spice-dependent economy of their own planets. By the time the main events of the novel take place, this has been going on for generations.

Still with me? Great.

Now things get interesting because, for all of their conniving and calculating, for all of their gadgets, money and armies, the elites completely overlook the natives of Arrakis, the Fremen. The Fremen are so desperately poor and culturally isolated the galactic aristocracy doesn't even know how many of them there are, and doesn't really care. Almost none of the elites even understand their language or religion. Despite the incredible wealth being mined and shipped from the world they inhabit, they are so lacking in basic necessities that they drain water from the dead to give to the living and no one ever cries for fear of losing H2O. They are unimaginably poor, and (surprise, surprise) a little bit miffed about it.

Skipping to the end, these Fremen and a prophetic outsider from another planet end up overthrowing the elites and take over the galaxy because of their deep understanding of their home turf. This unforeseen advantage is dubbed "Desert Power."

OK, where am I going with this? As we talk about oil reaching this long talked about economic threshold and how it will affect the economic lives of Americans, I think journalists should probably put some time into discussing where this oil is coming from. There is a lot of anger in many oil-rich parts of the world and there is a lot of poverty in these places too, but I rarely see media even attempting to report on the connection.

A lot of us seem to have this perception that the oil just so happens to come from places where people don't like us. I think too little thought and attention is given to the fact that part of the reason they hate us is because we are buying up their oil. I'm not saying terrorism is even remotely justified - not when others do it to us or when we or our allies do it to others. Targeting civilians is always barbaric.

But we do business with people (like the Saudi royal family, for example) that exploit the forgotten populations of their nations in the Middle East, South America, and Africa (and Louisiana). Incredible oil wealth is hoarded by a precious few that enjoy the favor of Washington and Wall Street while masses live in relative squalor. And for some wild reason, the "rogue states" with lot's of oil get more attention from our media and our invasion forces than the ones that don't.

Then when we see angry faces on the evening news we shake our heads and wonder "Why would anyone hate us?" As morally shallow as that is, we often move from that to another comment that might be just plain dangerous. "They're so small and powerless, who really cares what they think anyway?"

As we discuss how much Americans might be spending on gas this month, we should also consider the source and unpredictable strength of "Desert Power." It might surprise us. It definitely has before. If we play our cards right and fight for justice, it might even work to our advantage.

(See! This nerd stuff is good for something after all!)

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ