Crimea river; I really don't care
For you kids under 65, "Cry Me a River" was a 1950's song, popularized by Julie London. Last week's Daily Republic "Question of the week" was: "As Russia and the west go head-to-head over Crimea, are you concerned that the Cold War will re-ignite?" I'll admit, I'm a bit burned-out on both the Crimea annexation and the missing Malaysian jet. Apparently, March has been a slow news month. While the fate of the jet passengers is pretty much certain, the future shape of the Eastern Ukraine remains ambiguous. But I have to ask, are the United States and Russia really going to go "head-to-head over Crimea?"
To me, going "head-to-head" means going to war. While I'm certain no army in their right mind would ever draft me, I would slow down their whole war, I do have three healthy sons. I feel it would be the acme of insanity to risk their lives, or anybody else's, in yet another endless, senseless war, fighting against Russians living in Eastern Ukraine who simply want to return to their Mother Ship.
The Soviet Union broke apart a mere twenty or so years ago into more than a dozen various independent nations. Things are still shaking out over there and as the dust settles, there are bound to be some second thoughts and aftershocks to such an extraordinary political tectonic shift. To put things into perspective, to truly view the bigger picture, watch one of the many short videos on You-Tube that show the history of European border changes over the past hundred years. These videos seem like time-lapse movies showing changes to the map, year by year, and you may think you are watching a living, breathing animal. If you've ever purchased a globe, it's likely out of date, and no matter how good you were in geography class, there are now probably more countries that you don't know, than those you do. To me, it's unimaginable to throw bodies and treasure against such inevitable, incessant tides.
Crimean news stories occasionally offer comparisons to Hitler's land grabs in the 1930's and Neville Chamberlain's momentous, erroneous, "peace in our time" quote, but remain quite wary and war weary. Ginning up fear of Vladimir Putin serves no real purpose other than to convince Americans to sacrifice our sons and money to the insatiable and unappeasable gods and corporations of war. Unlike Senator John McCain of Arizona, who "never met a war he didn't like," our servicemen and women deserve leaders who are more thoughtful and much more measured. I remain thankful we reelected our President.
I grew up in Fairfield, home to a Strategic Air Command base, in the middle of the "Cold War," when the earth was equally divided between good and evil, democracy and communism. As kids, we all knew the B-47s and B-52s at Travis Air Force Base carried hydrogen bombs above our heads and that our little hometown would be targeted by Russia's first strike. We grew up believing we could not cede even an inch of ground to our enemy, anywhere in the world. Far-away places like Korea and Viet Nam tested our nation's strength and resolve. But that black and white world no longer exists; check any current map.
Today, in this world, hydrogen bombs have been replaced by corporate crime. Why should we focus our eyes oceans away? Our homeland was bombed, decimated by internal enemies far more powerful and vicious than any mere Putin. When will those who gutted our nation's economy for profit, pay for their crimes? When will "our" legislators and the corporations who control them place people before profit? We wait.
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