Henry Kissinger has stated that Trump might prove to be an
extraordinary President because he is so different from the past and may open
new opportunities for consideration. A total unsettling of established order in
international affairs
Trump’s supporters stated they thought America ’s
governance structure was riddled with corruption. The first thing Trump has
done is to cram the same kind of corrupting people and industries into his
government’s inner circle. Will this eliminate corruption or just change its
face? If the latter, how will Trump’s supporters then react?
Republicans claim Trump is offering a fresh start to clean
up government. However, they have not stated what needs cleaning, who needs
eliminating, and what replacement elements are being proposed. In fact, there
have been no substantive proposals from the Republican side of things for
decades. Obamacare was created to fill a vacuum that was swamping and killing
people. Republicans said no but had no offering to replace Obamacare. Still
don’t. They say they do, but no evidence exists that demonstrates the fullness
of their ideas. Just that they are against what Obama wants or wanted.
Kissinger claims Obama left the arena of international
affairs. This created a void in which other nations had to assess their own
problems and needs and figure out what to do. I think that is a very shallow
and misleading statement on Kissinger’s part.
The truth is this: Obama followed the international messes created by
Bush/Cheney. He calmed the waters of international concerns and invited all
nations to participate in the governance of the world. Isn’t this what peace on
Earth and goodwill toward all mankind is all about, or must we always have one
nation hold power and sway over all the others? Don’t we understand yet that
this is exactly what has destabilized the world community for so long?
It is time to gather all the players on the global stage and
share power and possibility with everyone. That is one way in which we all have
our needs aired and understood.
Oil is a problem. Energy is a geopolitical issue. Water is a
geopolitical issue. These three are the primary items that upend the world
community. It is the question of resources which sustain human life. Without
these three elements each nation is at risk. Working together we can solve the
problems. And then we will achieve what we surely will not risk losing. The
result is peace. Long sought and rarely achieved for any length of time.
If Republicans do not understand this then they are less
intelligent than I gave them credit for being.
There are those who have stated Obama should have been a
more forceful leader. I think that is the argument of a lazy person. They want
to be told what to do and when, and even how. Isn’t that what we have had for
leadership in the past? Did that get us lasting peace and a sustainable quality
of life? No. It did not. It might have seemed so, but in truth, the
sustainability was always in question.
Leadership embraces the goodwill and good sense of those
being led. Define a problem and ask for collaboration to fix the problem. Do so
on a regional basis, even on a national basis. Then move to international
arenas. The broader the scope of cultural involvement the more complicated the
process. But it is still manageable. It just takes more leadership skill and
trust and faith in others that the opportunities will be used for the good of
all our futures.
The pity is Republicans didn’t get this here at home. It is
also a pity that the UN is so weak that it could not use the opportunities
offered by Obama to build peace. And of course, the Middle
East potentates and Netanyahu were all too willing to use what
they felt was certainly a muddle for their own advantage. They are the cause of
the muddle, of course; have been for the last 30 years or more.
Obama offered something much more transparent and hopeful.
The fact that the human community the world over didn’t take advantage of it
for the right reasons is not the fault of America or Obama.
We have much to ponder these days. Not the least of which is
our own honesty to face our problems head on and actually commit to doing
something productive about them. Trump does not understand or know of the
catalog of problems under discussion. That frightens me a lot. But maybe cooler
minds will prevail and use this as an opportunity to accomplish what was wasted
during the past 8 years?
One can only hope so! If so then this might just be a Happy
New Year!
January 2, 2016
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