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.
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