There Aren't Just Two Choices

It seems that there's always a a crisis or controversy going on.  At our southern border, kids are being separated from their parents, that's a fact.  One side wrings their hands and demands change, and the other talks about the criminals that will come across if we don't have tight security.

Or the Enbridge pipeline that was just approved to go through Minnesota land, threatening the water supply and the natural beauty of my state.  One side is demanding that construction not start, and the other is saying how much safer pipelines are than the current practice of using rail to carry the oil, coming within feet of homes when it travels through towns.

Instead of fighting each other along political party lines (or worse, unfriending people!!), let's take a look at the actual problem.  Sometimes there aren't just two choices for a solution once you go back to why the problem occurred in the first place.

Take the border.  In 1971, President Richard Nixon officially declared a war on drugs.  The U.S. would seize the cocaine coming across the border, and the Colombian drug cartel would kill people in retaliation.  The president of Panama, Manuel Noriega, allowed Pablo Escobar, one of the best known cartel leaders, to ship the coke through Panama, making it that much easier to get to Miami and south Florida.  The cartel started raking in big bucks over the demand in the U.S.

And then the tide turned on our war on drugs, at least in south Florida.  The cartel decided that getting the drugs in through Miami was too hard, and started targeting the Mexican border to move the drugs to the U.S.  Between Colombia and Mexico lie the countries of Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras.  The drug cartel swarmed into those countries, creating a trade route for cocaine and other illegal drugs.  So when you wonder why people are fleeing their own country to the U.S. even knowing they will not be welcome, now you know.  Staying means their children may be kidnapped and used as drug mules or worse.  Staying means enduring the constant threat of violence.

Now that we know how and where the issue originated, what's the solution?  Einstein said that insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  If there is no demand in the U.S. for illegal drugs, there is no reason for the cartel to operate the trade route through Central America.  How do you decrease demand?  Other countries have done it by legalizing the drug itself.  It seems contrary to common sense, but their statistics show that it's working, in conjunction with more social services for recovery.  Would it work here?  Maybe.  Seems worth a try anyway.

On to the pipeline issue.  Using the same logic, let's talk about the problem.  Americans are obsessed with their cars, and trucks, and electricity.  I don't know anyone who is willing to give up any of those things, so instead, let's talk about how they are powered.  Renewable energy is expensive right now, because it's not subsidized by the government, or at least not to the extent that fossil fuels are.  Our government pays billions to big oil companies in order to keep the cost reasonable for us, the end consumer.  You can see why the oil lobby is so powerful in Washington - the taxpayers are paying for them to be in business so they can make a huge profit.  They're the only game in town.

So what would happen if that subsidy were to end?  Prices to us, the consumers, would skyrocket.  And then what?  Well, when it hurts our pocketbook, we tend to notice and take action.  You might not buy that gas guzzler and opt for a hybrid car instead.  Oh boy, but then that hurts car companies!  Yes, but then the car companies would have to increase gas mileage in order to compete.  Win win.

And better yet, renewable energy would have a chance.  Those solar panels and wind towers would start to look more appealing if the cost were the same as oil.  And what if the government subsidized them as much as they do oil?  Before long, we'd be up and running on renewable energy and the demand for oil would be gone.  Meaning there would not be a need for either pipelines or railroads to carry it across country.  Our water supply would be safe, and people living near the railroad would be safe too.

Critical thinking doesn't always solve the problem, but it may offer more choices for a solution.  Fighting each other along political party lines is like trying to row a canoe when two people are moving their paddles in the opposite direction - you just go in circles.