There are many reasons that the U.S. should seek to maximize domestic production instead of relying on oil and gas from other countries. Among these reasons are the jobs they create, the benefit to our overall economy, and the boost to our national security. Another reason, one that is often overlooked, is the fact that some of the countries from which the U.S. buys oil have a questionable record on human rights.
Merriam-Webster defines human rights as “rights (such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all persons.” Joe From Texas believes this definition is right on target. His Christian faith and his belief in America and the American Dream inform his views on this subject of human rights. Although the United States has had some very sad chapters in its history, such as slavery, our country has always found a way to end these chapters and move forward. In the case of slavery, it took a long and bloody civil war to bring this to an end. (Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human%20rights
We are not a perfect country, but we have historically been a country made up of people who have been willing to look in the mirror and ask, “What must we do to be better?” When our predecessors found answers to these questions, they were willing to act to bring about a better tomorrow. Sadly, too many people today want faux rights, such as the right to not be offended. Many of these beliefs emanate from those who engage in “woke” culture, which is a cancer on our society and does nothing to lift us up.
So why this background on human rights? It is vitally important as we examine this subject that we keep the Merriam-Webster definition front and center in our discussion. When human rights are mentioned in this document, we are not talking about someone getting their feelings hurt because others don’t agree with them. Rather, we are referring to human rights abuses that include things such as unlawful imprisonment, torture, slavery, sex trafficking, and murder/execution. Sadly, there are still countries in the world where governments either turn a blind eye to, or actually engage in, such behavior. Unfortunately, the U.S. does business with some of these countries.
In 2020 and 2021, the top countries from which the U.S. imported oil were Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Columbia. Although Canada and Mexico have some human rights issues, as do just about every other country, they are far from the nations with the biggest human rights problems. According to the Human Freedom Index, a joint effort by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute that ranked 165 countries, Canada tied for the 6th best record on human rights in the world, while Columbia ranked 89th, Mexico ranked 93rd, Russia ranked 126th, and Saudi Arabia ranked 155th. (Source: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php, https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2022-03/human-freedom-index-2021-updated.pdf)
Although Columbia ranked near the middle of the pack in the Cato/Fraser index, the country appears to be making moves that will soon remove it from the list of those who sell oil and gas to the United States. In 2022, the country elected a new, left-leaning, president who has vowed to end oil and gas production in his country. If he follows through on this pledge, it will be interesting to see what the impacts of losing a substantial source of revenue will do to his country. (source: https://time.com/6189763/colombia-oil-gustavo-petro/)
Russian oil is a non-issue at this point from a U.S. perspective. Since March of 2022, Russian oil and natural gas have been banned in the U.S. This ban was instituted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Biden to issue an executive order banning oil, natural gas, and coal from Russia. (source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/08/fact-sheet-united-states-bans-imports-of-russian-oil-liquefied-natural-gas-and-coal/)
Of the top 5 countries from which the U.S. imports oil, we have noted that Russian oil is banned due to sanctions and that Columbia seems to be heading in a direction to discontinue oil production. This leaves Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia and the question of whether we should continue to do business with these countries. As we have mentioned, Canada and Mexico are nowhere near the worst offenders of human rights, so the answer on these two countries, from a human rights perspective, is yes. Saudi Arabia, however, is another story.
As noted earlier, out of 165 countries ranked on human rights, Saudi Arabia ranked near the bottom at 155th. Why is Saudi Arabia ranked so low? An article on MSN.com in 2022 provided a good answer to this question. The article stated, “torture, execution, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, alleged war crimes and cruel, inhuman treatment of government critics – this is the real Saudi Arabia, according to human rights organizations, activists, dissidents and even the U.S. State Department.” Freedomhouse.org put it as follows, “Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. No officials at the national level are elected. The regime relies on extensive surveillance, the criminalization of dissent, appeals to sectarianism and ethnicity, and public spending supported by oil revenues to maintain power.” (sources: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/golf-brought-saudi-human-rights-abuses-back-to-the-fore-ahead-of-biden-s-visit/ar-AAYtwWf, https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia)
In 2020, while running for president, Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a global “pariah” for their human rights violations. However, in typical Joe Biden fashion, he changed his tone and tactics when he began to worry that high oil prices would be blamed on his party in the 2022 midterm elections. After a visit to the country in July 2022, he was criticized by many for not living up to his “tough talk” when dealing with the Saudis. Later in the year, when Biden’s Administration began to pressure Saudi Arabia to release more oil in an effort to lower oil prices in advance of the midterms, many suspected his softened stance had much to do with the fact that he was now seeking their help. (source: https://news.yahoo.com/biden-once-wanted-saudi-arabia-123452209.html, https://nypost.com/2022/10/11/biden-admin-begged-saudis-to-push-oil-cut-until-after-midterms-report)
In addition to pleading with the Saudis for help, Biden also sought help in lowering oil prices from Venezuela, a country upon which Donald Trump placed sanctions in 2017. These sanctions were put in place because Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, was seeking to re-write the country’s constitution to boost his already near dictatorial powers. A White House statement at the time said, “The Maduro dictatorship continues to deprive the Venezuelan people of food and medicine, imprison the democratically elected opposition, and violently suppress freedom of speech.” How bad is the human rights situation in Venezuela? So bad that the Cato/Fraser freedom index listed the country in the position of 164th out of 165 countries in the realm of human rights abuses. (Sources: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-imposed-sanctions-venezuela, https://www.theepochtimes.com/biden-plays-the-old-ugly-american_4797181.html?utm_source=ai&utm_medium=search, https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2022-03/human-freedom-index-2021-updated.pdf)
Biden’s policies are about as coherent as his gaffe-laden speeches. He says he is for a secure border, yet he does nothing to secure our border. He is for human rights, until he realizes that he needs something from countries which abuse human rights. He hates oil, until he feels that high oil prices are a threat to him politically. In the examples of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, we have seen that he will go crawling to nations that abuse human rights rather than support an industry in his own country—a fact that has not gone unnoticed by those who produce energy in our country. As Biden was making the rounds with Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in 2022, two representatives from energy producing organizations stated the case well: "We think Texas is a lot closer than Saudi Arabia,” American Exploration and Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury told Fox News Digital. "And President Biden does not need to be traveling halfway around the world searching for solutions to this energy crisis when the solution is right here at home.” Added American Petroleum Institute spokeswoman Christina Noel, “If the administration is serious about increasing supply, they should be meeting with producers here at home instead of looking to governments overseas." (source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-asks-saudis-oil-help-us-energy-reps-theyre-tired-vilification)
From his perspective, Joe From Texas thinks Anne Bradbury and Christina Noel nailed it. Something is wrong when a man will go out of his way to seek the help of countries who abuse human rights, while at the same time demonizing a domestic industry that has the ability to help relieve the pain of high energy prices on U.S. citizens and grow jobs at home.
