San Bernadino, CA: Yet again, another mass shooting. In his recent Slate article, Mark Joseph Stern recalls the admonition of Justice John Marshall Harlan II, "a conservative, [who] famously described the protection of these rights as a balancing test, weighing 'respect for the liberty of the individual' against 'the demands of organized society'."
Neither Democrats and Republicans have the inclination or political clout to really ask and then pursue the solutions to the obvious question: Why are there so many mass shootings in America? Why is the continual "breaking news" story so often about mass mayhem? Why does anyone outside of law enforcement or the military of need an AK-47?
William M. Gates, a voice of reason. Gates was the secretary of defense in both the Bush 43 and Obama administrations. His opening paragraph speaks truth:
Many Americans are mad as hell at our political leaders — both Republican and Democrat — and are giving voice to their anger through the likes of Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The anger is understandable. The federal government is paralyzed, unable to tackle any of the major problems facing our country or even accomplish basic functions such as enacting annual budgets for federal departments and agencies. The anger derives equally from governmental ineptitude, arrogance and corruption, and self-serving politicians more concerned with getting reelected than with the nation’s future.
Gates continues, saying our next president must understand our less-than-simple system of checks and balances; speak bluntly to Americans; and be a restrained, resolute problem-solver, a true unifier. A tall tall order, indeed! See anyone with that stature on the horizon? I'm not sure I do. So in keeping with our system, who might be the best compromise possibility?
The devil's bargain. Regarding the conflict with ISIS, (secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine) reminds us of Winston Churchill's comments about having Stalin [now Putin] as an ally. "This [wartime alliance] was not a bond forged in friendship and trust. It was a temporary partnership of necessity in the face of a common enemy... But shared grief is not the same as shared interests. Cooperation with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State needs to be carefully weighed against several bigger foreign policy issues."
For the US, destroy ISIS vs. for Putin, keep Assad in power. Strangely the US goal has an uncertain outcome, while Putin's is a specific with favorable consequences, i.e. "direct interests in Syria as a regional ally, a market for Russian military exports and a base for the Russian navy’s Mediterranean fleet. But his approach is influenced by wider considerations, one of which is to prevent another authoritarian regime from succumbing to the demands of its people."
It is stunningly disconcerting how history has a way of repeating itself. Clear thinkers (e.g. Churchill and George Kennan, to name but two) understood that allying with Stalin to destroy Hitler was necessary, but had unknown future consequences for allied foreign policy. So, too, does allying with Putin against ISIS.
Emma Lazarus. You probably remember these famous words: “Give me your tired, your poor, /Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: / I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Time magazine's November 19th special edition, "Exodus," is well worth a trip to your supermarket / neighborhood news stand. The article is replete with an investigation of the current mass exodus from the Middle East to Europe, as well as poignant pictures of "these huddled masses." As the article notes, this is the first mass exodus of the digital age; refugees come with their smart phone and necessary sim cards. One not atypical young male, having successfully arrived in Greece, chose electricity before food -- he was desperate to phone his family, to let them know he had arrived safely in Greece.
The Time authors note, as have others, that this mass migration has a disproportionate number of professionals and successful entrepreneurs, many of whom say that absent the violence they would willingly return home. This is hardly the notion one gets from many American politicians looking for a good sound bite, a few more votes, and election/re-election in 2016.
Thank you for reading. Enjoy the approaching winter season.
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