A Tragedy in One Act.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. I remember a time when it seemed, to my limited political IQ, the worst thing I had ever heard a president say was “I am not a crook.” Of course, Nixon did not have Twitter so he had time to think of what his statement should be. And, “I am not a crook” was the best defense he could muster. I kind of miss those days. Days when our president spent time trying to explain that he was better than we thought, those were good days.

Even the days when our president stood in front of the world’s population and threatened "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror." It had a vaguely Montague, Capulet, or probably closer to a Hatfield, McCoy feel to the statement, and I was personally horrified that a president would say something like that. Even worse when he dragged our country into two wars we had no hope of winning. Sending America’s children to die in foreign lands for suspect reasons, based on flimsy, probably manufactured evidence. But, it almost seems a benign statement today.

Today’s America is run by a playground bully, who maintains a constant stream of abusive, threatening language, via Twitter. He wants to start an unwinnable trade war with our largest trading partner, threats to pull out of a treaty designed to keep atomic weapons from Iran, and spews a constant stream of insults and accusations against our closest neighbor to the south and our third largest trading partner.

And now a tweet aimed at Russia threatening missiles and destruction, all in the name of humanitarian concern. It rings a little hollow in light of his threats to deport, build walls, and block refugees. He is a caring, concerned person as long as it involves missiles, bombs, threats, intimidation and empty rhetoric.

At least, I hope it is empty. Imagine the chaos if we actually start targeting Russian protected sites in the Middle East. It would only be one more mistake in a region with a rich history of pernicious Western decisions. But, it might be the worst one. If you think, even briefly, the Russians would not see this as an act of aggression you are kidding yourself. And if you think, for a second, that Russia would not retaliate then you are a fool.

And, if you don’t think a war between a county with Putin as premier and a country with Trump as president would quickly and irreversibly grow beyond any hope of control or relation to the initial cause then you are lucky. To be that blind in times so perilous and close to the abyss is a blessing.