Once again this winter, even reluctant television viewers will see advertisements for Citizen Energy Corporation featuring Joseph Kennedy II’s emphatic declaration that “no one, no one should be left out in the cold.” Accompanied by a look of the utmost determination on Kennedy’s face, a fist pump and a meaningful stare directly into the camera lens, the crusader makes it known that nothing will stop him in his quest to deliver heating oil to low-income Americans. His is a statement few can disagree with. But in the United States, heralded as the greatest and richest country in the world, too many people can see their breath inside their own homes as his commercial details. The important part of the ad, however, lies in Kennedy’s statement that the only oil company that agreed to give his organization a discounted rate was the one run by the vilified Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan government. For a brief period after the news came out that Exxon Mobil made over $10 billion in the last quarter, there was shock and dismay that in a time of war and increasing oil prices, a company could reap profits so large. Exxon Mobil was also the most profitable company in 2006, with numbers nearly topping $40 billion – the highest ever for any American business. Yet although oil companies are recording such great profits, only one has stepped forward to offer heating oil at a discounted rate for Kennedy’s group to bring to low income people who need it most. Is it not remarkable that a communist country, no doubt much poorer than the United States, with a leader who seems to incite more fear in conservative commentators than even illegal immigrants, is responsible for keeping some of America’s most vulnerable alive and healthy through the long winter months? The question of Chavez’s motivations cannot be ignored. Is he doing it out of the benevolence of his heart or is he doing it, as CNN contributor Glenn Beck claims, to create a legion of foot soldiers here in America? Neither answer sounds quite right. Having launched a series of public improvement measures, Chavez has helped to bring healthcare, education and food to millions of Venezuelans. Internationally, he draws ire for his attempts to make Venezuela a South American power to be reckoned with. His socialist approach to government, though apparently successful for the poor of Venezuela, frightens American commentators and politicians who have made many comparisons between his regime and Fidel Castro’s. But with oil prices shooting over $100 a barrel, Venezuela’s position as one of the world’s top oil producers and exporters limits the United States’ ability to act against Chavez and his government. The last thing policymakers want to see is Hugo Chavez making friends with low-income Americans. Yet nothing has changed. Major oil companies and OPEC have continued to ignore Joe Kennedy’s requests for discounted prices. There are 36.5 million people living in poverty in the United States. There are almost 47 million Americans living without health insurance. As we have suffered a frighteningly chilly and snowy winter, how many people have been unable to keep warm? The medical consequences of being exposed to the cold can wreak havoc for a household barely scraping by as it is. In an editorial ranting against the partnership between Venezuela and Kennedy’s organization, not once did the Wall Street Journal address the issue at the heart of the matter. How can a communist, a purveyor of an idea ardently opposed by the Catholic Church, put all the major oil companies to shame in benevolence? The lesson seems to be that Kennedy and those Congressmen who support the partnership with Chavez have formed an unholy alliance with a communist. Instead, the lesson should be that there remains a large block of Americans who simply do not have the money to stay warm in the winter. The lesson should be that major American oil companies have consistently turned a blind eye toward social responsibility, even in times of record profits. Is it war profiteering? Is it inhumane? I do not know. The same goes for Chavez. He is probably not discounting oil because he is a nice guy; he wants the American public to realize that he is not the devil. He is not trying to tear America down from within, but unlike other chief executives, he is attempting to make people’s lives easier. Chavez is not inherently evil, but the question remains: are the major American oil companies?
Nick Milano is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].
