“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” The words of Winston Churchill, which need to be considered to fully understand the predicament the world is in today, the possible futures before us, and the requirements of western nations, emerging democracies, and authoritarian regimes alike. We have essentially two choices: to work towards equity, justice, democracy, freedom, and liberty. Or to work towards the opposite, the path of the pathological, authoritarian, megalomaniac “leading” Russia. Remember, there has never been a perfect political system, just as there has never been peace. Both are idealised parts of a long dreamt of world, that at best is what we strive for, work towards, never lose hope of attaining. At worst they are, and will remain, fantasies, illusions, and far-off dreams.
Another quote summarises the Russian state. From Foreign Affairs magazine May/June 2022 issue, in the article Putin Unbound by Daniel Treisman,
“Russia is a brutally repressive police state run by a small group of hard-liners who have imposed ever-harsher policies both at home and abroad.”
Governments are at work, militaries are at work, Finland and Sweden have made their decisions, but what can the rest of us do? The simplest thing that anyone can do is to donate to help Ukraine. See the links in the upper right of this post. Not everyone can do that, so next is to fight against disinformation and help spread the truth- pass on verified information to as many people as possible within your networks. This is not just a battle against disinformation being fought against Russia- it has just as many proponents worldwide, and within our own country. (What a sad state our democracy has fallen to!) Finally, contact your representatives and let them know we need to do more for Ukraine- more food, medicine, weapons, more sanctions against Russia, and more support for NATO and Europe.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal from last weekend, Putin Drives Finland Into NATO’s Arms, there is a quote by a 78-year-old amateur historian that stands out,
What Stalin forgot, and what Putin is forgetting now, is that if you fight for your own home, it makes the difference.
The reference here is to the Winter War of 1939-1940 where Finnish fighters did the same to Russian forces as Ukrainians are doing now- cutting them off, destroying their morale, destroying their forces, and eventually driving them out. The people of Finland were brave in 1939-1940, as they were last week in joining NATO. The people of Ukraine are brave. They are standing up for the world and they deserve our help.
The same article outlines the very prudent preparations that Finland has been making on their own over many, many years. These range from defense spending almost meeting NATO requirements, to upgrading and training with equipment that will integrate immediately with that used by NATO, to building a series of underground tunnels and shelters that will house up to 70% of the population, while stockpiling food, fuel and medicine. Finland sets an example for all other countries to follow.
Since this seems to be a post full of quotes, I will end with one more. “Budschego net“- Russian for “no future.” This I learned from Masha Gessen’s similarly titled book, The Future is History. It is a commonly held and expressed sentiment in the… former Soviet Union, or today’s Russia, and says it all.
If by some stretch of the imagination someone in Russia reads this post, know that the future has not been cancelled entirely. The future is up to you. Be brave like the people of Ukraine and stand up to your government. You may suffer, and you may die. But Russians will continue to die every day until they stand together against their own tyranny.
Russian combat losses as of 20 May 2022
Momentary Observation- Criminal Acts Demand Prosecution, In The Name of Justice and Democracy
8 January 2021
Justice? As I have said again and again, it is an illusion. Our “democracy” has become an abortion. For four long years, and more slowly, more insidiously for many more years and decades before that, it has been steadily destroyed, trampled on, chipped away, thrown in the trash bit by bit. But more damage has been done in these last four years than throughout the history of our country, overt destruction of what my country stands for. But this is the nature of political systems including democracy; all democracies eventually degrade into tyranny. Just the way it is. Now back to the present day.
Do we live in the United States, or am I confusing my country with the so many countries in the middle east, the Caucuses, the Balkans, or maybe Ukraine, Belarus, or some other eastern European Russian satellite playground? Trump clearly emulates Putin, the dictator of Russia for those who don’t recognise the name. Both suffer from serious mental incapacities, megalomania, delusions of grandeur, etc. and so on, and pass that suffering on to us, the citizens who they purportedly work for.
Make America great again… ha! Destroy America and make us the laughing stock of the world. This is the sad reality of the state of the greatest nation in the world, the leader of the free world, the scion of democracy. America as we knew it is gone. We will never recover from Trump.
And speaking of Donald Trump (inserting opinion here), he should be taken away in a straight jacket at the very least, at best in handcuffs for a few life sentences for treason, sedition, fraud, deceit, and countless criminal actions he has committed. Not to mention incompetence and stupidity… if only Americans valued intelligence, logic, foresight, leadership, and strength the way they do television, Mc Donald’s, and beer. But we are far beyond that. At least with justice served, Trump in handcuffs being led out of the white house, filmed and broadcast live around the world, we will feel like there is still some semblance of democracy left. It won’t happen though, because our “leaders” are spineless, and thereby complicit, afraid to upset their own positions in the illusion. Nothing more can be said about that. Get ready for the next four years… we haven’t seen anything yet.
Abraham Lincoln and Prophesy; Democracy and Tyranny
18 November 2018
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
-Abraham Lincoln,1862
Give that very appropriate quote some thought, not just in the context of the United States, but globally. Or pick just about any country in Europe and apply it. No matter where you look, Lincoln’s quote might be considered now more than ever, a prophesy.
Food for thought, or supporting evidence (take your pick) can be found in two recently published works: The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership, by Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay. Also see Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans, by Jasmin Mujanovic.
“The Jungle Grows Back” by Robert Kagan- A Must Read
10 November 2018
After a very slow and careful reading of The Jungle Grows Back by Robert Kagan, and after much reflection on the past 45 or 50 years of history that I personally experienced, I find that my level of concern over the fate of the world has increased dramatically. Kagan lays out clearly and logically why the United States cannot abandon the world and why we must remain the global leader of the liberal world order we have helped to create, lest the world as we know it disappear from our grasp.
Kagan’s focus throughout is the refutation of the isolationist stance Begun by the Obama administration and adopted wholesale by the Trump administration. He leaves no room for questioning the necessity of US involvement and leadership around the world. Kagan believes that if we revert to our global position prior to World War II, democracy and human rights will backslide globally, authoritarian regimes (Russia, China, Turkey, Korea) will grow and seize more power, and the security of the world will be undermined. In short we would allow the undoing of everything we have spent so many lives, so much time, and so much money since 1945 to promote.
Everything we have helped promote? Yes, it is true- whether we accept it or not- the US has lead the world since World War II. Kagan gives abundant examples of US leadership over the last 70 years. We have, for better or for worse, taken charge and done our best to make the world a better place. Of course it is very easy to cite arguments against US involvement from past experience, from the promotion of our own corporate interests, to the protection of dictatorial regimes, to looking the other way when human rights are violated.
All this is true; there is no denying it. We could have done better, we could have acted sooner, made better choices, and acted differently as we blundered our way through the last 70 years. But then hindsight is always 20/20. The main question we should be asking ourselves is this: What is the alternative to US leadership? And to take it a step further, what would have been the outcome had we not led the world during that time?
Failure to act is worse- in many cases much worse- than the possibility of acting incorrectly. Prime examples of failure to act in recent years: Yugoslavia and especially Bosnia and its capital Sarajevo, and more recently Syria. Our inaction left thousands, hundreds of thousands dead. Of course we are not a “global police force”, but by the same token we cannot sit idly by and let history takes its course. If we do, we will have a world led by Russia and China- not a very promising thought. The bottom line: read the book. It will inform any political thought, and help to assimilate the constant stream of conflicting information in the world today.
Oaths Taken by Soldiers and Presidents
24 September 2016
U.S. Army Oath of Enlistment:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
The Presidential Oath of Office:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The Oath for members of Congress:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Note the similarities, and the fact that by taking the oath a person is professing their allegiance to protecting our country and to preserving the founding ideals this country was built on; that would be the Constitution, against all enemies. When a person takes this oath they are entering into a contract, very much like any legally binding contract, but at the same time unlike any other. The protection of freedom, peace, security, the constitutional rights of the PEOPLE, and “the blessings of liberty” to borrow the phrase, fall upon those who take it. It is not to be taken lightly.
One has often heard a soldier justifying his actions based on the oath, “I was doing my duty as I swore to do when I took the oath,” be it for better or for worse. Soldiers understand the oath, what it means to dedicate one’s life, to be faithful to an ideal that is without equal; they are a noble breed of men and women.
When will presidents, our representatives, and the rest of our politicians who take the oath start being faithful to it, and to us?
Momentary Observation- The Earth is Not Flat
28 July 2016
I think most of us are well convinced at this point that the earth is not flat, that our moon is not made of cheese, and that babies are not delivered by storks. How is it then that so many still believe that there is a difference between the republican party and the democratic party?
Momentary Observation- My Favorite Greek Myth
30 June 2016
The subject of Greek myths came up recently between my son and his pen pal. The question was, “which is your favorite Greek myth?” While I am partial to the myth of Heracles and his labors, and maybe Sisyphus and the rolling of the stone because it seems so familiar in a personal sense, I don’t think either are my real favorite.
My favorite Greek myth would have to be the myth of democracy.
Momentary Observation: When I Get My Bernie Check….
12 March 2016
When I get my Bernie Check…
I’m takin’ the family to Disneyworld.
No… I’m buying a new TV the size of my wall.
No, no, wait, I live in Colorado- I’m spending it all on weed!
Maybe I’ll send it to Donald Trump.
I could go to Las Vegas and gamble.
Final decision-when I get my Bernie check I’ll send it right back. I cannot be bought.
Momentary Observation: Thomas Jefferson Had All the Answers
16 February 2016
“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of the day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematical plan of reducing us to slavery.”
From The Rights of British America, 1774 by Thomas Jefferson
Give this statement some thought, and think about the change that never occurs no matter how many times you vote or for whom you vote.
At Five AM 