I’m reminded of a Simpson’s bit. Grampa and Jasper are
working in Springfield Elementary School for some plot device. Jasper has
got his beard caught in a pencil sharpener.
Grampa keeps saying, ‘Let’s see. How about if I try this?” and turns the crank.
Each time Jasper’s beard gets pulled further into the sharpener. But he does it
again anyway.
Whether it’s the various incarnations and rewrites of
Russia-gate, endless sanctions on countries who have committed the sin against
the Holy Spirit of denying America’s every whim, or the recent Stoner Crusade
by Jess Sessions, when will we learn? They all backfire. They all have the net
effect of doing exactly the opposite of what we so exquisitely execute them to
do. Why not just borrow our enemy’s hand gun so we can shoot ourselves in the
head?
Case in point? Starting a civil war in Ukraine and subsequent
sanctions against Russia did not have the effect of driving a stupendously
popular support for President Putin into the Dacha dump. Oddly, the Russian
people rallied behind their rulers, who obliged by finding replacements for the
French cheese, vegetables, and German technology they were denied. Suddenly,
Russian made became chic.
One of the things sanctioned was insulin, which sounds like
a war crime to me aimed at the weakest members of society. Why don’t we
sanction hair plugs and Viagra? That’ll hit the ruling class hard. We have the
moral high ground by withholding someone’s insulin? Really? So, what did they
do? Russia built its own insulin manufacturing facility. They are a modern
technological society, after all. They can do stuff like that. Farms, dairies,
factories, plants, international deals, mutual defense pacts, prosperity. Education.
Literacy. A rising middle class. Better relations with foreign countries that
had not previously been allies. They’re like, real people. Oh, and Europe has
suffered economic decline. Turns out that they need Russia more than Russia
needs them. Nice one, Machiavelli.
And Mr. Just-say-no Sessions. States are making billions in
revenue on the Marijuana trade. It’s like it’s a legitimate business or
something. Instead of just moseying along ignoring Federal laws while, one by
one, the states take the bong into their own hands, this might just force the
issue in the halls of Congress. Thanks, Jeff. I was tired of paying cash.
And it doesn’t just come from American lack of insight.
Israel, a usurping country in the Middle-east, still might have negotiated
peace and co-existence with her neighbors. They’ve had almost 70 years. Now
they have become a genocidal pariah cosplaying the holocaust but this time
against Palestinians. The result? A national divide between ultra-hawks who are
openly advocating torture and death for Palestinian children and honest
Israelis who are horrified at what their country has become. And the Palestinians
fight back with… a sixteen year old girl. Ahed Tamimi, who was filmed slapping
two heavily armed Israeli soldiers who refused to leave their home. YouTube
doesn’t forget. I don’t recognize the Israel I lived in during the 70’s. Nor am
I proud of her. Torturing children is not good for your image.
What else would we like to promote? Communism? Socialism?
Spaghetti Monster-ism? Rick-and-Morty-ism? No problem. Just find some blow-hard
to come out against it. It will be the backbone of every new commune, kibbutz,
chess club, cooperative, and soviet thrown together by idealistic commoners
everywhere in no time.
Not only is negotiation and diplomacy the most powerful
weapons in ours and every other arsenal, by far. It is the only one that can
achieve our goals as well as the goals of our opponents without blowing up in either
of our faces. Imagine that? And who could possibly object to that?
Talk to people. Listen. The feeling of actually accomplishing
something might take you by surprise.
And Jeff. Don’t Bogart that Boomerang!
