Fixing America In 500 Words Or Less Chapter 19 IS BOYCOTTING EXXON/ MOBILE A GOOD IDEA? Once again, there is a misguided token effort being pushed on the web, to protest high fuel prices, encouraging consumers to not purchase gasoline on a specific date. Organizing consumers to not purchase gasoline for a day is a totally ineffective way to protest and a big waste of valuable time and energy.  Just not buying fuel for a day or, just not  purchasing at Wal-Mart for a weekend, will not serve to reform greedy corporations long holding a corrupt stranglehold on the American political and economic reality. A much more effective way to protest would be for consumers to target boycott Exxon/Mobile and Wal-Mart, agreeing to purchase only from their competitors. Almost every consumer could easily stand up for America, just by agreeing to not purchase from the two worst economic-war profiteering, environmental polluting and human rights debasing offenders. Anyone can complain about a problem.  It is quite another thing to act wisely to actually correct a problem.  If American consumers had already united in wise activism, as demonstrated by Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Mohandas Gandhi, we could long ago have corrected several of our worst 21st Century problems.  Attempting to boycott every offending corporation on a widespread basis is obviously an impossible task.  However, if consumers would join together and agree to permanently boycott just Exxon/Mobile and Wal-Mart, until such time as they meet reasonable human rights and environmental friendly demands, major reform in America would soon be achieved.  That is all it would take.  Target boycotting of salt by Gandhi in India resulted in substantial positive gains for poor people who were in effect, slaves of the British Empire.  Target boycotting of city buses in Montgomery eventually resulted in a Southern president signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  And target boycotting of grapes in California by Cesar Chavez resulted in substantial wage and other improvements for migrant farm workers. Target boycotting not only serves to reform the targeted industry or company but also, it serves notice on all other companies that if they fail to treat workers and consumers fairly, they will be next.  There is no reason for violence here in the 21st Century, in order to achieve substantial positive human and civil rights gains.  We the people hold the power of the consumer purse and as such, we have the power to bring greedy corporations and their equally corrupt political pawns to their nefarious knees, without firing a single shot. Until Americans stop voting for corporate stooges, stop listening to divisive political and religious pundits and, start practicing wise united activism on a large scale, we're likely to continue treading on down the road to historical oblivion.  It doesn't take much courage to complain about problems.  It takes courage and perhaps a little personal sacrifice, to stand up for actually fixing America.  Where are great leaders of courage and sacrifice, like King, Parks, Chavez and Gandhi, when we need them the most? Click to Go Back to Contents Other Books by Richard Aberdeen Click Here to eMail the Author Copyright © by Richard Aberdeen Copyright © by Freedom Tracks Music No part of this material may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.  Inquiries: Freedom Tracks Music ~ Records / 292 Trails Circle / Nashville, Tennessee 37214 or requested via eMail.  Appendix Revolution and Revolution/Side B are open copyright and may be reproduced or utilized as desired.