What autos a society depends on says a lot about that society too, and the gas-guzzling SUVs and pickups that have made up the backbone of American transportation indicate our indifference to global problems, including the problems the country is creating itself.
What is so disturbing about America's role in the five-gas-stations theory is the message it sends quite openly to the rest of the world. Friedman notes in his essay that this message breeds resentment because the United States is not content to spread technology and industrialization. In addition, it is spreading democratization, capitalism, fast food, and even Hollywood values to the rest of the world, and many of them strongly resent America for its presumption that everyone would be better off following her example, whether they want to or not (Friedman 134). The country feels the need to drag everyone down the same "righteous" path, and that is paving a path of worldwide prosperity for many. However, for those who do not prosper, or who choose not to follow that path, they are rapidly becoming bitter enemies of the country, and they pose a threat. They hate the country enough to attempt to destroy it, just at the terrorists of September 11, 2001 wanted to destroy lives and the fabric of the country. That is Friedman's underlying message in this essay, that it is dangerous to spread globalization, it could come back to bite the country even harder than it already has.
The tongue-in-cheek aspect of Friedman's essay is clear by its conclusion. He ends his essay by stating, "We want the world to follow our lead and become democratic, capitalistic, with a Web site in every pot, a Pepsi on every lip, Microsoft Windows in every computer and most of all - most of all - with everyone, everywhere, pumping their own gas" (Friedman 134). That is amusing, to be sure, but there is another underlying message here, as there is throughout this work. This lead the country wants the world to follow is tied to capitalism, to be sure, but it is tied to some...
Thus, America's drive to globalize the world is driven by sheer greed and capitalism. These corporate entities spread the country around the world not even for altruistic goals, but simply to make more money and create a heftier bottom line. That means that the country and its actions are breeding resentment and creating enemies not for some unselfish need to better people's lives, but simply to make a profit at the expense of the world's cultures and morals, and that is quite disturbing.
In conclusion, Friedman's five-gas-stations theory is compelling and quite thought provoking. If America's gas station is the one spreading around the world, then the world is in serious trouble right now. America's gas station is running on empty. In the last 100-plus years, America has been at the forefront of new technologies and innovations, from the airplane to walking on the moon and developing the first PCs. Today, however, that role is changing. To put Friedman's theory to the test, based on our last century and a half, America's gas station should not only be efficient and lower cost; it should be the vanguard of the future. When a driver enters America's gas station, they should pump hydrogen or ethanol fuels from pumps powered by solar or wind energy. The car should be a hybrid with alternative technologies and enough horsepower to climb Mt. Everest. It should be big enough for the family and yet fuel efficient, and the attendants will help you plug in your electric car to charge it up, if need be. That should be America's gas station according to our past performance, but today's American gas station is instead a vanguard of American dominance and globalization, and that is a tragic flaw in the world's hope for the future.
References
Friedman, Thomas L. "Revolution is U.S." Signs of Life in the U.S.A., 5th ed. Maasik & Solomon, eds. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. 130-135.
