Balance of Power

Like the kids’ game Pick-Up Sticks, throw a bundle of stuff in the air and watch it land; then unscramble it. See who wins by picking up the most sticks and completing the game first.

That’s sort of the game plan of our current white house occupant. Reject the Transpacific Trade Pact and watch the confusion take place. Observe the renewed efforts of many nations to find a new balance. Do the same with the North American Free Trade Act. Watch Canada and Mexico attempt to find a new balance with the US. Same with the Paris Accord on Global Warming.

Sometimes this ploy works. Sometimes not.

Like killing the DACA program, renewal of it now is played as a game in congress to win some other gain, like the wall along the Mexican border. Only that has not yet occurred. DACA is being resurrected slowly via the courts. The issue is not yet settled, but it may soon be by the Supreme Court.

North Korea de-nuclearization is another situation in which the donald tossed past peace entreaties up in the air to see where it would land. Meanwhile he looks like a leader until substance is found lacking. Depth of knowledge on the issue is lacking. Only bullying and nasty name calling is thrown into the mix. Will North Korea remove its nuclear weapons? I doubt it. And there is really nothing we can do about it.

Russia and China are building their own mutual aid military pact. Not a good thing for American diplomacy. But then, diplomacy has been less the focus in recent years. The Bush years destroyed much of the diplomatic initiatives, and the foreign service career people along with it. Trump is doing the same. And acting like the king of the hill. All the while Obama tried to rebuild it; now it is being torn down again. What is it with republicans and diplomacy. Their forefathers believed in it; why not the sons and grandsons?

King of the hill? Mound is more like it, king of the mound. And it is made up of sand and disappearing quickly by wind and water erosion. Depth matters. Breadth matters. Diplomacy matters.

It’s time to get back to serious business and be the world partner the global community needs and asks for. We the People can make this happen. But only if we do our work learning the issues, researching the technicalities, and voting.

Bullies will disappear when common sense reigns. Sometimes common sense is not power but wisdom and logic are.

Wisdom and logic – two great cornerstones of power and balance of power.

America learned long ago that sharing power with others builds a basis for getting things done. Those end results must be good for all, not just one nation. It is the common good that needs attention. That attention will come when the global community ignores military might and exercises wisdom and logic.

The balance of power we all yearn for is but a fingertip away. Let us reach through the gap.

April 27, 2018