Where have all the statesmen gone?
Drew Kelson’s editorial cartoon in Thursday’s Post was directed at a local issue but has a far wider application.
The “I want it done my way!!� stance could as easily be applied to the escalating violence in the Middle-East between: the Iraqi Sunni’s and Shiites; the Palestinians and Israelis; Israelis and Hezbollah
It applies equally to both sides of the interaction between our country and those we disagree with: Iran; Korea; Venezuela; Cuba.
And it is just as apt for the factions here at home that have so polarized our country between: the religious right and the liberal left: the so called conservatives and liberals (terms which no longer meet their own definitions!);
the Republicans and Democrats (parties that no longer represent the values of the people who formed them).
Where is the reason, the fair minded thoughtfullness, the long-term thinking, that used to be so much a part of governing? When did violence, both physical and verbal, become the first response instead of the last resort? And how can we tell any other country how they should behave when we have allowed our own country, the most privileged in the world, to deteriorate into groups that snarl vindictively at each other “I want it done my way!!�
Comments
I don't know about statesmenship, but if it's long-term thinkers you want, just look to the communist asian block nations (China et al.). They make goals for generations and centuries and patiently work to achieve them. Right now, while we fight and bicker over every detail of government, they are building the economic and military muscle needed to put and end to our way of life. Our pre-occupation with our own in-fighting suits them just fine.
Posted by: Greg | August 15, 2006 12:17 AM