My dad is unpatriotic. He drives a 1993 Ford Explorer and aids terrorists. When his gas tank is running low, he drives down to the local gas station, fills the tank up, and in the process helps terrorists blow up nightclubs and develop weapons of mass destruction. At least this is what a new activist campaign called The Detroit Project would have you think.
The project has recently started airing commercials that mock the commercials put out by the Bush administration tying drugs and terrorism together. One such ad runs like this:
“I helped hijack an airplane. I helped blow up a nightclub. So what if it gets 11 miles to the gallon? I gave money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign country. It makes me feel safe. I helped our enemies develop weapons of mass destruction. What if I need to go off-road? Everyone has one. I helped teach kids around the world to hate America. I like to sit up high. I sent our soldiers off to war. Everyone has one. My life, my SUV. I don’t even know how many miles it gets to the gallon.
WHAT IS YOUR SUV DOING TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY?
DETROIT, AMERICA NEEDS HYBRID CARS NOW.”
Yep.
That would make my grandpa, my uncle, and most of my friends’ parents terrorists. In the name of national security, it would be best for me to stop writing now and contact the FBI, because these people may have valuable information about bin Laden. Being patriotic, I formulated my own ad campaign that, with a little help, may identify the terrorists among us.
This is Tyler. Tyler attends the University of Wisconsin. One day, Tyler hopes to have a nice family and job and automobile. Tyler really likes that Dodge Durango, but he does not have the money now to buy one. Tyler picks a major at UW that will earn him money so he can buy nice things. Four years later, Tyler graduates and after one year puts down money to buy an SUV. Tyler just pledged support to Osama bin Laden. Have you? Stop attending school and cut off any chance you might have to support terrorism.
The link is there. Here in Wisconsin, where dirt roads are common, where snow piles up by the foot (this is true for most winters) and where a Ford Focus won’t haul your 20-foot boat, an SUV makes perfect sense.
The project’s goal is to reduce dependence on foreign oil. By running these commercials, the project has tried to make buying gasoline and blowing up skyscrapers synonymous.
First of all, terrorism is not about oil. Terrorism is about making a political statement through anger, hatred and violence. Terrorists want to instill fear more than they want you to fill up your tank. Their funding doesn’t come from Grandpa or your best friend but from rogue nations and outlaw families.
According to Ford, SUVs account for 25 percent of the total number of automobiles purchased each year in the United States. What about the other 75 percent? When the owners of a Toyota Camry or Ford Taurus fill up their tank, are they not supporting terrorists? Is that gas different?
When it comes to labeling SUVs as inefficient and gas-guzzling, you can only do so much defending. They are rather inefficient, and they do use tanks of gas. We must also factor in the mileage driven. If someone drives 1,000 miles a year in a Ford Escape and someone else drives 40,000 in a Ford Taurus, then who is contributing more to the pocketbooks of Al-Qaida?
Suppose the founders hit some intellectual center of every American in the country and we all stop buying SUVs and recycle the existing ones into heavy-duty Trapper Keepers. It still wouldn’t stop Russia from signing multi-billion-dollar oil deals with Iraq, and oil companies wouldn’t cease operating — they’d find new markets.
It’s campaigns like this that get people’s attention off what really matters. The SUVs on this highway contribute no more to terrorism than does my education here at UW. Bigger threats to the American people are companies using events like those of Sept. 11, 2001 and the current situation in Iraq to promote their political views. As long as this continues, the real axle of evil will remain here at home.
Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.
