I'm a Bush supporter myself...I totally agree that people can't and shouldn't be able to tell us what to drive. But asking consumers to think about something and make a decision based on personal introspection is not exactly depriving anyone of their right to drive gas-guzzlers. Once again, I'm trying to back away from the emphasis on SUV's in particular (as Arianna Huffington is doing in numerous interviews) and put the emphasis on luxury consumption (and notice that the other cars you mention are somewhat luxury items themselves).

You're right...this is America and you have the right to drive whatever you want to. No one has proposed a ban on SUV's here...they are just asking people to realize that their actions, no matter how inconsequential or stupid they may seem, do in fact carry consequences (not a direct connection, as I've stated before, but enough that it should make people think about it, which apparently it has). It seems to me that the attitude "This is America and I can do what I want" is what has other countries so upset with American indulgence and indignence in the first place. And Ms. Huffington makes it clear in her interviews that her goals have nothing to do with getting rid of SUV's or accusing anyone of terrorism so much as they have to do with generating discussion on better fuel efficency and more stringent energy standards.

Just as you have your right to squander natural resources on inefficent transportation, the Detroit Project has the right to tell you what they think of you for doing so, and even the right to try to change your mind. And you of course have the right not to listen.

SUVs do not support terrorism. The majority of those television networks have refused to air the commercial, anyway. Americans who drive SUVs don't support terrorism, and they shouldn't have to feel guilty for driving the vehicle of their choice. It's ridiculous.

It is nice to be allowed to again spar with you on yet another post. Your arguments are clear and articulate and I respect that. But again I must dissagree...
While the writing on the screen and the words in the speaker don't say "DON'T BUY SUV'S" That is their purpose. I understand that we have an uneccesary dependancy on foreign oil and that is why I say open the floodgates of ANWR. Staying on topic however, I think that while SUV's do have low gas milage, so do a lot of other cars. A list I have compiled myself: Lexus LX-14, Ferrari spider-17, Porche 911-17, and (drumroll please) Suburban-19. Not as good as a golf but so what. All fgiures were aquired from the respective websites by the way.

It shouldn't matter though what kind of gas milage it gets. I want to drive one and in America I can. I can because we have freedom here in America and that is worth all the oil in the world. These people in the Detroit Project wish to dprive me of the freedom of, yes, consumerism I have in this county. If I wanted the Government to ration gas and tell me what cars I can and cannot buy I'd move to Russia or England. But i dont so I live here.
TO BE CONTINUED.......


"Freedom is not Free"-Korean War Memorial, Washington DC.

awww crap...SUV's support terrorism?? Then technically our government supports terrorism through their newly created line of "anti-terrorism SUVS." Irony...anyone??

Pete

I'm afraid that we're perhaps missing the point here. Arianna Huffington and "The Detroit Project" (the major spokesperson and the name of the organization that funded the commercials) are not saying don't use gasoline. And they aren't saying that the miniscule population of people who have SUV's for legitimate purposes shouldn't use them (as opposed to soccer moms and folks who just like driving SUV's for the sake of driving them). All that they're trying to do is illustrate the point that a large part of America's ongoing addiction to foreign oil is fueled (no pun intended) by luxury items such as SUV's. They're just saying that maybe it's time America decided on more stringent energy measures by appealing to patriotism and anti-terrorist sentiment. They do this by highlighting an admittedly very indirect and weak link between fuel consumption (in this case an unnecessary luxury consumption) and money that supports terror. This luxury consumption is a big part of why so many countries resent America and Americans in the first place, and I think it's a bold move for a public interest group to stop and say "Look, we need your attention as consumers so that we can get you to think about these issues and do something about it," even if its as simple as ridesharing or writing a Congressman. They aren't calling SUV owners terrorists and they aren't saying stop buying gas...they're just telling people to take a closer look at their behaviors and evaluate them in light of the terror-conscious society in which we are all now forced to live.

Actually, I hope these commercials will encourage people to stop and think about one of the main causes of our ongoing conflicts with the Middle East, from at least the Carter Era, to the Persian Gulf War, to terrorist backlash against American intervention and occupation in the Middle East, to the possible second war with Iraq. Yes, I am talking about oil, and America's abuse of this precious resource, mainly in the form of huge, unnecessary gas guzzling vehicles. It makes no sense. First of all, driving a gas-guzzling vehicle not only wastes precious resources (and MONEY... why people want to waste their money on such things, especially in a troubled economy, I'll never understand) and pollutes the environment, but it also increases our reliance on countries that supply the most oil. We have become so obsessed with keeping our supply of oil open that we are willing to go to war to keep it that way. Therefore, the countries that have these supplies (which aren't very stable and Western society-friendly to begin with) have become hot spots for violently anti-American sentiment. And therefore this hunger for oil has, in a way, bred terrorism. If Americans began to conserve oil, look for alternative fuel sources, and insist that car manufactuers make their vehicles more fuel efficient, the U.S. would have less need to influence or have power over the countries that supply the most oil. And the people of these countries would have less reason to hate and attack us. Make sense? :P

All right, now that I have some replies, thanks for your input! I personally think that this is ridiculous! I mean, the airplanes that were hijacked on Sept. 11th were running on gasoline that was "supporting" the people who hijacked the plane! Sorry, I mean no disrepect to the Sept. 11th event, I know it is a touchy subject for many people. There are other countries in this world where we can get gas, for cheaper too, but for some reason the US refuses to do that. I feel it's wrong to say that people who own SUVs are supporting terrorism, that would mean that anyone who ever rode in a car, airplane, bus, ect. was supporting terrorism too. Everyone in the world is connected to everyone else, whether we like it or not.

Well, sh17, it seems that this is an actual commercial...

http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15136.shtml

Who cares about the terrorism part, people shouldn't be driving SUVs anyway! I saw a film today in school about what's happening to the environment, and it scared the bejesus out of me! People only buy SUVs because of their Freudian complexes.

Blah, you people have no sense of deadpan. She was joking about the various propaganda anti-drug commercials that suggest buying cannabis supports terrorism (preposterous) and pointing out that oil purchases pay for a large deal more terrorism than ANY drug.

Like Jennie said, I can understand how they'd support it indirectly. but then again, so does a car, and nearly everyone has one of those (we have, er, 5 now, but everyone in my family can and has to drive). It's just useless propoganda, I suggest ignoring the terrorism part.

However, SUVs are terrible gas guzzlers, and unless you really need it (pull a trailer or something like that) why bother getting one? It's just an utter waste of money, resources, the environment. And they're not very safe either.

I haven't heard anything about that, but I can't image it's anything but a joke or mindless propaganda. SUVs do not support terrorism. Maybe some people that drive them do, but maybe some people who drive trucks support terrorism too. I have seen commercials that say drugs support terrorism, but I can't say I agree with that either. Maybe in some indirect way these things can be linked to terrorism, but so can anything if you really try. (Though drugs are probably easier to link than SUVs)