Skip to main content

The War Wary President


The point is this. The facts before us lead to the conclusion that the former Presidential Candidate and Congressman from Ohio, Dennis Kucinich may have been correct when he proposed a Ministry of Peace. Because as a whole, America is a war-weary nation.

 
One writer recently admonished us as a people for even using this term. After all, he argued, in World War II we sacrificed much to win a war. And in Vietnam, the draft polarized a nation. In this case, we have a volunteer army and most have not felt the pain and sacrifice of past war years.

 
But, on the other hand, we have lived through a huge economic downturn. And to give the American people credit, our society is a global village that is much more inter-connected so we have experienced many scenes that would not have been possible in past years. The internet and social media has changed our social conscience, for better or for worse.

 
So, the idea that we are not war-weary is not justified. If we had not invested blood and treasure in these two wars, we may have used that investment to build super-highways and schools, roads or bridges that would sustain us in competition with our global trading partners. As it stands, we are in debt and woefully behind the times in all measures of social progress.

 
So let us not quibble about how we got to this point. We all know that this is a war-weary nation. And we elected a President to preside over a “sadder but wiser” mentality concerning future engagements. This brings us to the present. The Syrian conflict is not one that Obama has rushed to embrace.

 
Admittedly, there have been half-hearted measures of support from the administration for a floundering resistance movement in Syria. But on the whole, we have managed to stay out of this conflict. If the President does manage to pull off the “coup” of having negotiated a peaceful withdrawal of the alleged chemical weapons stockpile from Syria, then we should all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

 
Most probably, the far right will find fault with all manners of this sausage-making enterprise. However, we are a war-weary people and we have elected a war-wary President. Let us rejoice and be glad of that fact.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Under the Radar Stories

  Here's another installment of our popular Under the Radar series. Check out the new "Under the Radar" online magazine to read even more stories that may have been under-reported.   1)       Surging Foreign Arm Sales:   Sales surged 36% in 2015 and are set to remain strong in the coming years. ISIS has fueled demand among our allies for US missile defense equipment, helicopters and munitions. 10 years ago, the focus was on fighter jets. Europe, the Pacific and even Centcom have provided the demands. The total value of sales in the works is around 500 billion dollars.The Pentagon vets all requests, including those from countries with weak human rights records.   2)       139 Countries get power from Renewables :   There is a blueprint released within the last few years giving details of how all 50 US States may run on renewables by the year 2050.   The plans include wind turbines, solar...
Post a Comment
Read more

For those Dems in Despair...Take Heart!

Here is something that I've noticed. The fact is, most of the Hillary supporters were very upbeat and happy before the Election. And the mood for most Trump voters has always been some kind of perpetual gloom and doom attitude towards everything. They walk around perpetually convinced that Armageddon is near. Well, now that the Apocalypse has occurred (at least in Blue America), we need to take a deep breath, take a few steps, and look at the Big Picture from 10,000 feet. 1. Trump has to deliver: On all those promises, both real and totally unrealistic that he made during the Election. And although I understand that he is not a "normal" candidate, and we have much to worry about, he now has to perform. And as Mario Cuomo said, " You campaign in poetry. But you govern in prose ". Meaning when it comes down to brass tacks, he must go back to the same old Republican Dogma that has made up the GOP for the past forty years. Tax cuts for the rich, trickle-dow...
Post a Comment
Read more

What hath We Wrought?

If someone waking from a deep freeze just saw that tape where Trump was bragging off the record about the way he treated women, grabbing them by the crotch because they "let you do it", it would seem that so many red flags are raised that they would immediately conclude it as disqualifying for any candidate for higher office. It goes without saying that women are not objects, or something lesser to be grabbed and treated as toys or groped simply because someone believes themselves immune from the rules of polite society, an ethical code of conduct or common human decency. It was obvious that Trump couldn't handle even the small amount of power that is bestowed on a Hollywood TV Reality star. Why would anyone think that this person could handle the immense power and pressure that the highest office in the land entails? That does say something about the voters. Voters didn't vote simply for change, they voted for the strong man who didn't just fall to the top...
Post a Comment
Read more