Response Essay

Question 1.How do you respond to the story of the 2003 Gas War, as told by Nancy Postero? Here in the U.S., we buy most of our oil from foreign countries, so why the big fuss over Bolivia selling some of its natural gas to a foreign country?
Basically, the Gas War of the 2003 is a remarkable point in the contemporary history, whereas in the future the situation is likely to deteriorate because gas and oil are scarce resources. In the future, the wars over oil and gas are likely to deteriorate. To put it more precisely, Nancy Postero gives insight to the essence of the conflict and it is possible to forecast the further development of the struggle over natural gas and oil. The US is currently using foreign natural resources, including oil and gas. In such a situation, the decision of Bolivia to sell gas to a foreign country may be strategically important for the US because the US can use Bolivia as an alternative supplier of the natural gas. As a result, the US can conduct more flexible international policies relying on multiple suppliers of natural resources. In such a way, Nancy Postero is quite reasonable in her anxiety concerning the policies concerning natural gas trade and supply.
Question2: How do you respond to the story of the Cochabamba lynching, as told by Daniel Goldstein? Who or what do you think were to blame?
Daniel Goldstein reveals a dramatic story of the Cochabamba lynching, which reveals the depth of the interracial conflict and the lack of tolerance in the society. In fact, the story of the Cochabamba lynching is the manifestation of the cruelty and dehumanization of the society under the impact of racial prejudices and biases. At the same time, the author fails to reveal the socioeconomic background of the conflict that caused the lynching. Instead, the author focuses entirely on the existing socio-cultural norms and values dominating in the society. The author reveals the deep antagonism between representatives of different racial groups, whereas the dominating white majority treats black minority as mere commodity, whereas any attempt of representatives of the black community to stand for their rights and liberties confront the oppression from the part of the white majority and leads to lynching.
Question 3: Articles by Painter and by Grisaffi tell the story of coca eradication in Bolivia. Engaging their discussions, respond to the following statement: “Cocaine abuse is a huge problem in the United States. Therefore, it is legitimate to spend US money on coca eradication, aiming to intervene at the beginning of the production process.”
Today, Bolivia is one of the major suppliers of cocaine to the US. In such a situation, the US attempting to prevent the problem of the growing cocaine consumption in the US needs to stop the supply of cocaine from such countries as Bolivia. In this regard, Grisaffi argues that Bolivia cannot cope with the problem of the cocaine production and export to the US. At the same time, the author points out that the solution of the problem of cocaine production in Bolivia is not the mere problem of Bolivia but also the problem of the US. In such a situation, it seems to be quite logical that the US should unite its efforts with Bolivia to put the end to the illegal cocaine trade and production of cocaine in Bolivia. Therefore, it is legitimate to spend US money on coca eradication. In such a way, the US could help Bolivia to put the end to cocaine production that would decrease the supply of cocaine to the US. On the other hand, the US should control the spending of the money to prevent the misuse of the US money.