Few people today like to bother with studying History, it does after all, involve capital 'R' Reading - that reading that is done with capital 'R' Reason employed, and if you've been edumacated to little 'r''s, that can seem difficult. And it tends to tell you unpleasant things, like nations that are ruled by tyrants, behave like criminals and bullies, and criminals and bullies don't behave by rules, at best they refrain from their natural inclinations out of fear... but even that is only for a while - if you doubt me, see if you can find any empty prisons.
From Histories headlines 2,500 years ago, Thucydides saw the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war, sparked by the actions of pen upon a treaty The History of the Peloponnesian War, from end of Chp. 1 - every bit as new as today's NEWS, and far more relevant:
Chorus of Current Events - 911 led to the invasion and toppling of Afghanistan & Iraq... hmmm... yeah... but still, the lasting effects have been at best... mixed. Yeah, Libya caved, some troubles with Syria and Lebanon... but they soon caved too, the oh so pious West seemed to think thy could cover that caving with 'civil talk', politics, 'free elections', oh, and 'democracy' (tee-hee!), as if 'r'ight might overrule 'M'ight. They say they're against terrorists... lets see, what happened when Hamas 'won' an 'election' in Palestine? HA! They let it stand! al-Sadr in Iraq? Ha! They let him negotiate out! Ok, one last check, Iran... they've been caught selling, donating and delivering weapons for IED's killing U.S. Troops... anything? Ha! No Way!
Uh-oh... Israel blew the hell out of Syria's reactor... crap... North Korea's caught red handed (go figure)... ok, lets watch... talks or no talks? Ha! Talking again! Ok, on with the show.
What, after all, does a tyrant like Putin see when looking at what they know they hold together by might alone, by emotion and the fist keeping the pieces knocked together, there's no inner cohesion of integrated truth to rely upon, no rights or laws people can trust in and with you, only emotion for mother russia overcoming the shame of defeat, and the might to enforce it. With that perspective, what is the status of the Republic of Georgia on it's borders? No matter the corruption present, they stand for Republicanism, for Freedom... that dear friends, is a poisonous threat! Poland? Latvia? Lithuania? Estonia? Threats! How can Putin possibly use his fists from the outside, to hold together what is pulling apart from the inside? And as the KGB knows only too well, such thoughts spread across borders sooo fast.
Russia - Ukraine's trying freedom and independence? Risk it, poison the sob! Crap, caught & failed! Reactions? Ha! 'Condemned'! What the hell do we who condemn ourselves three times a minute, care for the condemnation of a pious world? Takeover the oil companies...more 'condemnation'! Hey, when you write the laws, what you want is lawful, gotta love it. Georgia... push 'em, push 'em, let a jet strafe and bomb... reactions? Na, more 'Russia must be a good world citizen' (Heh... must is for those who do, not those who talk). Push 'em... goad 'em... come on, they'll react... a little more... There! GO! GO! GO!
Ok... hold on... pause (crap we hate this part)... any jets in the air? Anything redirecting towards us from Iraq or Afghanistan? NO!... uh-oh... wait a minute... Rice is going to see Shakisvilli... OH MAN! You've got to be kidding me! After his speech, she practically kow-towed to the godz of diplomacy! Look at Shakisvilli's face! He knows he's screwed! Ha! Ok now, do the North Korean table dance, agree and swear not to, and do it anyway... deny it while you're doing it... it's working 'Be a good world citizen' talk! Amazing! Grab the rest, wreck it all! Threaten the damn Polish... they've got to be getting the picture about the West now. Damn'd if we're gonna let them get anywhere nearer our borders or interests, they've had us on the run for too damn long, threatening us with their damn democrazies and republics. They're soft and we know it, and won't give another inch to the damn metrosexual banter!
"To the question why they broke the treaty, I answer by placing first an account of their grounds of complaint and points of difference, that no one may ever have to ask the immediate cause which plunged the Hellenes into a war of such magnitude. The real cause I consider to be the one which was formally most kept out of sight. The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon, made war inevitable. Still it is well to give the grounds alleged by either side which led to the dissolution of the treaty and the breaking out of the war."So how about we just stick to our current events? That is, after all, what those committed to Action! pay attention to, since those are the only events they can take advantage of. Here's the take of the gang of current events, "... an account of their grounds of complaint and points of difference"
Chorus of Current Events - 911 led to the invasion and toppling of Afghanistan & Iraq... hmmm... yeah... but still, the lasting effects have been at best... mixed. Yeah, Libya caved, some troubles with Syria and Lebanon... but they soon caved too, the oh so pious West seemed to think thy could cover that caving with 'civil talk', politics, 'free elections', oh, and 'democracy' (tee-hee!), as if 'r'ight might overrule 'M'ight. They say they're against terrorists... lets see, what happened when Hamas 'won' an 'election' in Palestine? HA! They let it stand! al-Sadr in Iraq? Ha! They let him negotiate out! Ok, one last check, Iran... they've been caught selling, donating and delivering weapons for IED's killing U.S. Troops... anything? Ha! No Way!
Uh-oh... Israel blew the hell out of Syria's reactor... crap... North Korea's caught red handed (go figure)... ok, lets watch... talks or no talks? Ha! Talking again! Ok, on with the show.
What, after all, does a tyrant like Putin see when looking at what they know they hold together by might alone, by emotion and the fist keeping the pieces knocked together, there's no inner cohesion of integrated truth to rely upon, no rights or laws people can trust in and with you, only emotion for mother russia overcoming the shame of defeat, and the might to enforce it. With that perspective, what is the status of the Republic of Georgia on it's borders? No matter the corruption present, they stand for Republicanism, for Freedom... that dear friends, is a poisonous threat! Poland? Latvia? Lithuania? Estonia? Threats! How can Putin possibly use his fists from the outside, to hold together what is pulling apart from the inside? And as the KGB knows only too well, such thoughts spread across borders sooo fast.
Russia - Ukraine's trying freedom and independence? Risk it, poison the sob! Crap, caught & failed! Reactions? Ha! 'Condemned'! What the hell do we who condemn ourselves three times a minute, care for the condemnation of a pious world? Takeover the oil companies...more 'condemnation'! Hey, when you write the laws, what you want is lawful, gotta love it. Georgia... push 'em, push 'em, let a jet strafe and bomb... reactions? Na, more 'Russia must be a good world citizen' (Heh... must is for those who do, not those who talk). Push 'em... goad 'em... come on, they'll react... a little more... There! GO! GO! GO!
Ok... hold on... pause (crap we hate this part)... any jets in the air? Anything redirecting towards us from Iraq or Afghanistan? NO!... uh-oh... wait a minute... Rice is going to see Shakisvilli... OH MAN! You've got to be kidding me! After his speech, she practically kow-towed to the godz of diplomacy! Look at Shakisvilli's face! He knows he's screwed! Ha! Ok now, do the North Korean table dance, agree and swear not to, and do it anyway... deny it while you're doing it... it's working 'Be a good world citizen' talk! Amazing! Grab the rest, wreck it all! Threaten the damn Polish... they've got to be getting the picture about the West now. Damn'd if we're gonna let them get anywhere nearer our borders or interests, they've had us on the run for too damn long, threatening us with their damn democrazies and republics. They're soft and we know it, and won't give another inch to the damn metrosexual banter!
Crazy little Kim Jong il - You see how the big bad eagle reacted to the bear? Eagle?! Pah! Canary! Stop that nuke plant dismantling, gear it back up, tell Syria the shops open for business again!
China - hmmm... 'reunificaiton' is looking closer and closer....
West - what we in the west see is that 'we aren't interested in threatening anybody, hell, we don't even want to defend anybody, why should anybody fear us? Lets be friends!'
Tyrants are threatened by opposition. Period. They know, better than we, that it is their people who they fear the most, and any notions of 'freedom', any idea of limits upon their power... THATS a threat! Defensive actions? Treaties? Leagues? Such things are sources of fear for them, nothing less, and anybody that transmits fear, without the willingness and ability to back it up, there's only one thing to do, can do, push them back! Now!
Any response to Russia that didn't involve immediate military response, was nothing but displaying that we could be pushed back from their borders.
What does my oh so wise opinion say should have happened?
Bush should have said 'Vlad, here's the deal. No F'ing way this stands. You have 8 hours to remove your people & eqpt from every square inch of Georgia, 8 hrs to do it without the world knowing of our talk here. After that, we publicly state you have 8hrs to leave, totally and completely. Anything remaining on Georgian soil 1 second after, will soon cease to exist, just like sadams highway of death, you will be humiliated worldwide in living color on every international network news channel. Any moves towards any other country, ally of ours or not, and whatever you make the move with will soon cease to exist. Mobilize any missiles towards us, and Russia will soon cease to exist. Period. Nice talkin' to ya Vlad, Goodnight'
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Any response to Russia that didn't involve immediate military response, was nothing but displaying that we could be pushed back from their borders.
What does my oh so wise opinion say should have happened?
Bush should have said 'Vlad, here's the deal. No F'ing way this stands. You have 8 hours to remove your people & eqpt from every square inch of Georgia, 8 hrs to do it without the world knowing of our talk here. After that, we publicly state you have 8hrs to leave, totally and completely. Anything remaining on Georgian soil 1 second after, will soon cease to exist, just like sadams highway of death, you will be humiliated worldwide in living color on every international network news channel. Any moves towards any other country, ally of ours or not, and whatever you make the move with will soon cease to exist. Mobilize any missiles towards us, and Russia will soon cease to exist. Period. Nice talkin' to ya Vlad, Goodnight'
Click.
If we can't or aren't willing to say and DO THAT, then we should get the F off the world stage, and stop giving our friends a false sense of safety, let them know they live with bullies ready, willing and able to pummel them without fear of retribution from any of their friends... which is perhaps their actual situation.
Let us live out a few more years or decades within our current borders, before they're eaten away from without and within... at least Mt. Rushmore ought to remain for future ages to marvel at what once was.
Unless the Taliban has a say... but that's a concern for the future, not for current events.
Let us live out a few more years or decades within our current borders, before they're eaten away from without and within... at least Mt. Rushmore ought to remain for future ages to marvel at what once was.
Unless the Taliban has a say... but that's a concern for the future, not for current events.
"Bush should have said 'Vlad, here's the deal. No F'ing way this stands. You have 8 hours to remove your people & eqpt from every square inch of Georgia, 8 hrs to do it without the world knowing of our talk here. After that, we publicly state you have 8hrs to leave, totally and completely. Anything remaining on Georgian soil 1 second after, will soon cease to exist, just like Sadam's highway of death, you will be humiliated worldwide in living color on every international network news channel. Any moves towards any other country, ally of ours or not, and whatever you make the move with will soon cease to exist. Mobilize any missiles towards us, and Russia will soon cease to exist. Period. Nice talkin' to ya Vlad, Goodnight'
ReplyDelete"Click.
"If we can't or aren't willing to say and DO THAT, then we should get the F off the world stage, and stop giving our friends a false sense of safety, let them know they live with bullies ready, willing and able to pummel them without fear of retribution from any of their friends... which is perhaps their actual situation."
Van, I agree with you wholeheartedly. But, how was Bush to accomplish this? Do you think he could have gotten Congress to agree?
Until the Left is marginalized in this country, the US is virtually a paper tiger. Yet, if we get off the world stage, the Left has totally won.
"Van, I agree with you wholeheartedly. But, how was Bush to accomplish this? Do you think he could have gotten Congress to agree?"
ReplyDeleteNo, or rather, yes he could have, had he held to his 'Axis of Evil' stance. As soon as he yielded to trying to justify our policy to the UN, allowing those reasons for war with Iraq to be hung on WMD (not that he made that his central argument, he let it become the talking point, and didn't refute it effectively), rather than the 22(?) items on the authorization of force agreement. As soon as he threw over our first Operations title from 'What had been dubbed "Operation Infinite Justice" is now to be known by the less controversial name "Operation Enduring Freedom". (BBC's words), and flinched from using 'Crusade'... etc, etc, etc, he lost the ability to pull congress and the country along with him in subsequent events and now these latest issues.
I wan't an initial Bush supporter, for reasons I saw would result in the prescription drug policies, not vetoing campaign finance leglislation, etc, but I really don't question his intelligence or integrity, or heart. I think he's a good, honest (as they come in politics) man, who is doing his best to do what he thinks is right, and I'm very thankful for the stands he did take... I just wish he had taken more principled positions based on America's Right to act in its defense, and communicated them better.
"Until the Left is marginalized in this country, the US is virtually a paper tiger. Yet, if we get off the world stage, the Left has totally won."
And there you come closer to the real issue, it isn't Bush alone that has let these circumstances come to pass, no doubt without him, the situation would be still far worse - can you imagine algore's positions in these circumstances? - the real issue is the erosion of our understanding of what America means and stands for, Liberty rooted in Individual Rights inseparable from Property Rights, and the unambiguous defense of them through objective law and the civil and military defense of them.
Our current positions began to take root as the Progressives (republican and democrat) began to get their flat, scientistic, pragmatic policies into our national policies - beginning in Education with the Morrill Act of 1862, also known as the land-grant university act, which I've hit on many times in these posts, and proregressively getting worse with more and more gov't control and weakening of our Individual Rights - and willingness to stand up to defend them.
It took us 100 years to get into this mess, it'll take at least that to get us fully out of it. But we can do it... and we certainly must do it.
Thanks for your comment.
Here's to the marginalization of the left, and yes, it will take a long time. Here's to "Liberty rooted in Individual Rights inseparable from Property Rights, and the unambiguous defense of them through objective law and the civil and military defense of them." And, no one dissects the current scene better than historian Victor Davis Hansen.
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems, that I see in America is our consistent inconsistency that happens in our international relations. I think the consistent response to the Russia situation would have been to do just what Van detailed. But a consistent response to international human rights violations would have meant us moving on Iraq when Sadaam first gassed the Kurds. It would have meant us boycotting the Olympics in China, the one good thing that I think Carter did by the way, but we are to much in bed business wise with China for us to act with any moral character. That is why the World often looks at our actions with suspicion.
ReplyDeleteBut I am also feeling very cynical today. So take it with a grain of salt.
Lance said "One of the problems, that I see in America is our consistent inconsistency that happens in our international relations"
ReplyDeleteTrue, but keep in mind that that inconsistency begins here at home. When we undermine the principle of Property Rights, the political linchpin for all of our Rights, Principle per se, goes out the window.
Once you say "Well, we'll do what is 'Right' here, and then do what we feel like doing here"... then you are no longer doing what is Right at all, and only doing what you feel like doing, all the time, at home and abroad.
If you see the horror of Slavery, of a person with no Right to make their own choices for their lives and to the fruits of their labor whatsoever, yet see no problem with infringing on a few rights here and there, no doubt for 'noble' purposes of course, 'helathcare', 'living wage', owls and wetlands... oh and alternative fuels too... and lets not forget tobacco or inefficient light bulbs or education... can't have people making their own choices there, we need to decide for them... "but that doesn't mean we don't support the Principle of Individual Rights!"... just that the principle doesn't apply on Principle when we don't want it to. Now as to Foreign affairs... yes the principle of upholding our interests based upon threats to the Rights and Property of our people. Yeah... that's a nice thought... but look, we'd like to take the money from our citizens and do some really neat stuff - for noble reasons of course, and....
Uh-huh.