Commentary on Commentary

So something happens. It is reported in the newspaper or on radio or TV. One’s mind digests the happening. What does it mean? What are the who, when, where and why? A hole opens up in the Siberian landscape. It is reported to be 60 to 100 meters in diameter. No sign of man-made excavation. The area is desolate. Weather is worse. Why here? Why now? By what means was the hole made? Indeed, how deep is it? Has anyone explored it?

You know what I mean by all this. Our minds want to make sense of things, happenings, thoughts. It is natural. It is healthy to think about these things.

Well, this blog is my commentary on the life that happens around me. It is my little effort to make sense out of those ‘things’ that I notice. Are they important? If so, to whom? Me I suppose; but you as well? and what about the millions not paying attention, are they thinking about these matters as well?

My responsibility begins and ends with me and those I feel are important to my life – family, friends, and colleagues. I can’t very well alert the world to my thoughts. In the first place that is presumptuous. In the second place, why add the noise of my comments to the already noisy world? Who would listen? Who would care?

As I near the third anniversary of writing this blog, I am heartened to learn I am not the only person who feels as I do. I am not alone! That’s comforting. It also affirms that my thinking is on the right track.

Surely there are those who disagree with me, but that’s OK. What matters is whether we are learning new things and perspectives that will allow us to come to new conclusions, better conclusions. Conclusions that will encourage more thinking and adoption of broader views that more of us can use to improve on matters challenging us.

As I continue a daily regimen of scanning the ‘news’ and selecting what to write about, I am aware of more and more people doing the same. What is different about this process today is the availability of news reports large and small. We are able to learn about events 24 hours a day, every day.  By the time we hear a newscast the news is old. By this time my mind is asking why it is important? What have we learned since first hearing of the event?

Maybe that’s what bothers me about newscasts. They are old, stale. They do not offer a cause/effect/result story line for the news item. Absent this the blank reporting of the item seems almost meaningless. Or worse, the news head provides a subtext message about the event. Often these are political.

The world is a dangerous and complex place. Every day we witness the unfolding of history. In minute detail we don’t recognize it as history, but it is. For example, what is going on with Putin in Russia?  He hosts the winter Olympics and puts on a pleasant public face, but immediately takes over Crimea following the Olympics. This was a planned event. Putin knew what he was doing. He actively manipulated the news and dared the world to do anything about it.

Then Ukraine. He orchestrates the taking of Ukraine from a stand alone nation to the status of colleague nation in his bloc of influence. The only conclusion is that Putin is working up public support in his Russia to assume hegemony over eastern bloc nations similar to the Soviet Union. He is pressuring natural gas and oil supplies to do this. He is amassing military supplies and personnel to do this. He has no opposition within his nation to such adventurism.

And Russia is a member of NATO now. He knows what NATO’s plans are in response to Russia’s ill-conceived plans. He can dare the world to stop him and he will not get much opposition. American opposition is in the form of words because we have built a posture of peace keeper. Military might is not to be used against enemies unless the threat is perilous.

Interesting history building I think. We are witness to it.

Trouble is America is viewed as the peacekeeper and policeman to the world. We don’t see ourselves in that light. But others do. This makes for a very uncomfortable reality internationally: the bullies get their way because there is no one willing to play the opposite role.

In the Middle East Israel is known to be quick to defend herself. People do not bully her often without knowing for sure she will strike back. Their only hope is to get America involved in the fracas. And we are not willing to do so quickly. That leaves Israel to act on her own. And she does.

Palestine has nothing to lose and everything to gain by being stubborn. Hamas is a terrorist group, not a humanitarian organization. It plays its peaceful population of civilians as hostages. Hamas shoots rockets into Israel daring Israel to shoot back. She does and kills civilians. It cannot be avoided. I have no sympathy for Palestine. They have been given 60 years of opportunity to settle their hostilities with Israel. They have wasted 60 years of opportunity. The world can expect nothing but death and destruction of the area by Israel in defense of her own people and territory.

No other Middle Eastern nation gets involved except to undermine the peace and sneak around. They are not peacekeepers. They are war mongers. And they too play the Palestinian civilians as hostages. The only losers are the Palestinian people. As it always has been.

How dreary.

The Middle East, however, is not Palestine. Nor Israel. It is a region rich in peoples and nations, cultures and histories. It is the business of all Middle Eastern nations and peoples to build peace. They don’t. The question is why?

And that is the historical question of significance. There is no answer yet. That begs the answer even more so. Why is there no answer? Is it meant to be unanswered? Is this what that part of the world wants? Again, why?

America wastes its time and resources by being involved in the region without first answering that question. In all of my life experience the question has not been asked or answered.

Why is that?

Here are a few more questions that need to be asked and answered. Trying to fix the issues without asking and answering these questions is pure folly.

1. Why is there an illegal alien problem in our country. All of us are immigrants, literally and figuratively. We need to provide a reasonable process to acclimate all new immigrants to our land. There is no such thing as an illegal alien. That posture alone would help solve the issues currently being hotly debated. The debate is over. All people who want to be here should be allowed. End of issue. Now how do we make that happen smoothly?
2. Diabetes is an age old disease. Billions of research dollars have been spent to solve the disease. Billions more are spent to treat the disease. The question: why has there been no cure found for diabetes? It is staring us in the face. Let’s finish the job. Or are there too many people who make too much money not solving the disease? I think that is the core of the issue. Shame on us for letting this happen. How many other diseases are curable but the economic loss is considered too great to end the scourge?
3. If universal education is the answer to nearly every problem under the sun, why is universal education not free?

These are the obvious questions of the moment. Many more exist. The historical issues is simply this: why not ask the basic question and then demand an answer. Both the question and the answer are well known. And the solutions are of certainty. The larger question is why have we allowed these to continue unchallenged?

That’s my commentary for today. We are capable of solving many problems. We don’t do so. Why?

Why indeed?

July 21, 2014