A Few Subjects

Since I haven’t updated by blog for a while, I thought I might just hit on a few subjects that are in the news over the last few weeks. My seasonal work with the IRS is coming to an end so I will be able to devote more of my time to blogging and to my next novel.

First issue:  The Ukraine

            I will not hazard a guess as to what Vladimir Putin will do concerning any future land acquisitions of Ukraine. However, I am sure that Putin feels the pressure to do something. He is in the unique position of being the power player at one of the most opportune moments in history. The consensus superpower, the United States, is winding down a ten-year war in Afghanistan and Americans are war-weary. Add to this the fact that the American President, Barack Obama, demonstrates at every move he is both weak and indecisive regarding diplomatic relations and foreign policy. The European countries have long relied on the United States to be the buttressing strength within their alliances and have allowed their military forces to limp forward on a shoestring budget. Now the NATO alliance has a purely military issue at their eastern door and they have little, if any, credible capability to back up their demand for Russian cessation and pressure on Kiev. My guess is that Putin may feign a desire for Ukrainian stability while the Russian supplied separatists forces continue to degrade and disrupt any true attempt to stabilize the area.

Second Issue:  China

            If Putin has a pivotal decision to make because of the opportunity presented him by American foreign policy ineptness, think of the quandary the Chinese must be suffering. For a nation and a people so ingrained with the proclivity to take the long view, their heads must be spinning at how quickly the opportunity to expand both their power projection and actual span of control has been offered up. They have a recently purchased aircraft carrier without trained flight crews or the support ships to support it, and their quirky North Korean neighbor with the bad hair is moving military units and upgraded missile sites which occupy the attention of both South Korea and Japan. And Barack Obama just left from a visit with Japan where he reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to our Far East allies. After watching how he treats his other allies, I’m sure the Japanese and South Koreans feel very secure. So what does China do now? Well for one, they start drilling in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Hopefully they won’t update their timetable regarding Formosa.

Last Issue:  Race and Donald Sterling

            First of all let me begin with the automatic disclaimer for a subject such as this. I do not condone any of the racially charged sentiments of Mr. Sterling. Now that the obligatory statement is out of the way, I find it curious as to how we seem to jump over the overall moral issue of marital infidelity to the issue of race. It seems that all other sins pale in comparison to racial insensitivity. Sterling goes to NBA games with a woman who is not his wife and no one cares.  Cliven Bundy was able to mobilize national conservative support for his stance against the Federal government until he made racist statements. After the statements, it was no longer about the actual situation on the ground, but the entire event not centered on Bundy’s attitude. Race trumps all arguments.

'But when I get home my other homies are like how was your day? Well, I only had to be white for at least eight hours today, [or] I only had to be white for four hours.'

            Jamie Foxx made the above statement to a reporter for the UK Daily Mail in 2012. Totally disregarding the broadsides that would have been leveled at any non-black person uttering the same statement but with the emphasis on being white, what use is it to go through your life so absorbed by color? We will not get past racial issues until we stop letting it be the determining factor in all that we do and demanding people think a certain way regardless of how they act.