If you invested time, money, and human energy into digging valuable oil out of the ground, you would probably not be willing to trade it to me for a piece of paper made from recycled underwear. Easy enough to accept this premise, right? I would need to majorly sweeten the deal if I expect you to trade. In fact, I’d probably have to offer something you can’t easily get, like best-in-class military equipment, and a quiet agreement to support your political aims (using violence when necessary). Enter: the petrodollar. USD is blood money, and taxation is theft, in service of death. I get it now. I already did, but I do now, too.