War and Peace

How long has it been since we were last involved in hostilities? Ever? How long was the peace we ever experienced in history as a nation? Surely there were periods when the US was not at war with some other nation? Surely?

Peace and War. Two terms that mean the opposite of one another. War is so frequent on the face of the globe that one wonders if statesmen even set peace as a goal? Transcendent, continuous peace? What would that be like?

Think about this. War has been a clear and present danger as well as an on-going thing for a very long time. I’m not talking just about the threat of war but actual armed conflict. Oh I know we call war by different names for political correctness, but if guns are firing, missiles released and soldiers and civilians dying, we are in a state of war. The definition is simple enough.

But what about mindsets of those people we entrust to keep the peace? Are they clear on the objective?

Threatening war is the stance of a weak and powerless state and statesman. North Korea is an example of that. No power; just threat. And a fairly serious one at that. The threat has the power, not the jerk issuing the threat. Of course North Korea is a puppet of other statesmen. Russia comes to mind. Better they have a fool run the fool’s errand than be directly involved in the mayhem, death and cost of senseless war. My question is, how much is China involved in this? A little I suspect; but not a lot. It is very foolish for them to be playing games with an erratic despot in North Korea. A hot war in the region would bruise China due to adjacency.

All the more reason for China to involve herself and cool off North Korea.

Russia plays her games to destabilize the global power lineup. That is her job to do so she looks formidable and powerful. But she is a shadow power; lots of land; lots of people; no money; no future prospects of money to replace the materiel of war used in manifesting such. Shadow power and foolish. Games only. Sad for a once powerful nation with rich culture and history to have slipped to such a stance.

The world deserves better leadership than this. Whether the USA is capable currently to project such leadership is in serious doubt. We have a deal maker in the White House, not an historian, strategist, or strategic thinker. He knows not what he is doing.

How I miss the cool, powerful thinking of his predecessor! And his cabinet of intelligent, capable advisors. They projected peace as objective. That is not a projection of weakness that politicians try to pawn off on the American psyche.

As voters and citizens we need insist that peace is the long term objective of our efforts. Not submission but cooperation and collaboration. Sharing the leadership and the goals with everyone. Inventing powerful means to sustain the peace for the good of all people everywhere.

I know this sounds pie in the sky. But how do we know we can’t have that pie in the sky if we don’t imagine it and work toward it? Power struggles are normal between nations and blocs of nations. But peace should be the objective, right?

I know there are those who want a perpetual state of war or readiness for war; it is good for their bottom lines and balance sheets.

It is not good for the rest of us, however. If you want to lessen tax burdens and government size, try peace for a change.

Then sit back and watch the dividends flow!

April 17, 2017