| People have the right to the truth
|
| Unvarnished. |
| Even uncomfortable
|
| But never subjugated to a cause, however noble or well-meaning
|
| They have the right to clear thinking
|
| Slogans, boycotts and protests don’t offer answers…
|
| It has been suggested that Shell should pull out of developing nations
|
| altogether
|
| The oil would certainly continue flowing
|
| The business would continue operating
|
| The vast majority of the employees would remain in place
|
| But the sound and ethical business practices synonymous with Shell
|
| The environmental investment
|
| And the tens of millions of dollars spent on community programs would all be
|
| lost
|
| Again, it’s the people of developing nations that you would hurt
|
| It’s easy enough to sit in your comfortable homes in the West
|
| Calling for sanctions and boycotts against a developing country
|
| But you have to be sure that knee-jerk reactions won’t do more harm than good
|
| Some campaigning groups say that we should intervene in the political process
|
| in developing nations
|
| But even if we could, we must never do so
|
| Politics is the business of governments and politicians
|
| The world where companies use their economic influence to prop up or bring down
|
| governments
|
| Would be a frightening and bleak one indeed |