It's What the Hell Just Happened Thing

Dear America,

hi.
all together now...deep, cleansing breath.

again.
breathe in,
breathe out.

again.
breathe in,
breathe out.

wax on, wax off ...(anyone remember that from Karate Kid?)

Old G thing has been clinging to dear life.
Finding comfort -- in an oh so bittersweet kind of way -- in the famous phrase, "when you're going through hell, keep going."    Indeed,  and thank you Churchill as we regroup, as we take stock in the things we hold dear.  And with great hope, let it become the catalyst for rebuilding, transforming, and making good from a set of circumstances that clearly carry the potential to wipe us out altogether.

Sure, when I say "clinging to dear life" it's not like I'm in Syria, struggling to actually stay alive while dodging rebels, the Assad army, and otherwise physically, emotionally wrestle with the possibility of losing life or limb just walking to the five and dime.  It's not like that.

It's not like I have to go all out and gird my loins in order to battle the deluge -- a massive wall of water in Biblical proportions coming off the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and thereby save my life, home, family from nature's fury.  It's not like that.  [And saying a few extra heartfelt prayers to those I love experiencing this for real....which is simply a little shout out to a little R and D who make their homestead in Boulder  xoxo]

It's not like I have to save myself through a daily hookup to an IV, supplying enough nutrients and energy to survive -- as in the case with the love of my life  [my poor baby]. 

It's like, enough already!  Lord, can't you see?  My ability to keep going is on the verge of total collapse...can't you see my legs beginning to buckle underneath me?   Yeah right... God only gives us "what we can handle" -- oh okay.  If that be truly the case, then my cup runneth over!  Enough! enough, enough.  I am crying uncle here, please I beg, no more.  I will  do anything in exchange; let me be a vessel, Lord -- an instrument of your peace.   Just make it stop.  Take me, I'm all yours...

C'mon, breathe, G.

But no sir ree bob -- I'm not battling to make a life in Syria, nor having to build myself an arc, nor living from day to day on a drip.   So let me be clear -- it's not like I can't find my perspective, or something stupid like that.  

And considering myself totally lucky on this day the Lord has made, hallelujah.

And how!

For America IS exceptional....still. 
And how's that for a rather abrupt about-face?

Sure, we can't see it all too clearly right about now -- but it's there.   It's laying in wait under the surface; it's taking cover from the daily bombardment of shrapnel and fire and brimstone upon our inherent foundation, and taking refuge.

And sometimes  --   it might just take a Russian, a former KGB chief.......cross-checking references now...highly manipulative, systematically perverse, hidden agenda ripe, narcissistic diplomat to remind us.

But before we get into that, let's review:

Obama said Assad had to go (circa 2012)
Obama waited
Obama marked the "red line"

** cue chemical weapons **

Obama calls for military action against Syria!

** a week later **

Obama calls for "limited" military action in his weekly address!
Obama calls for congress to "vote your conscience", f&*% the public
Obama waited for UN
Obama waited for EU
Obama waited for public to grant the A-okay
Obama said "military doesn't do pinpricks"
Obama waited and wrote a speech to take us to war...
but wait... wait a minute...

** cue Kerry gaffe **

Obama, State Department, within minutes walked back Kerry's comments.
but wait...wait a minute...
yeah, yeah, that's the ticket...

** cue Putin **

Obama delays Syria strike, delays vote in congress...
and basically calls the whole thing off.
But wait...wait a minute...

** Obama is OUT! ** 

Hands over the loose ends to Kerry.
Kerry claims "this is not a game" and Syria's efforts must be --
"credible" "comprehensive"  "verifiable"


Oh okay.

I've heard and seen and witnessed enough.

What the hell? 

What a pathetic show of foreign policy acumen all the way around the gaffe and back, no?  We are a laughing stock heard round the world.

Oh and about that gaffe.
What if the reporter, Margaret Brennan of CBS, hadn't asked the question -- then where would we be?  Cue MEDIAite, Andrew Kirell, here.
Now that is a scary thought.

But for a mad, mad world update on the day in Syria and Assad, let's turn to Fox News, here.  Is he playing us?

And so it begins all over again.

enough.

enough.

It's time.
Time to cue the op-ed to the New York Times; we've waited long enough.

Here you go, from Russia with love, expressly brought to you by the Vladster.  Go Poo:

MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.

just too funny, huh..

As he proceeds with a song and dance about we've had our good times together, and our not so good.

eh,
eh.

This part's pretty good though:

The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

Love how he was able to insert the pope as part of his smearing propaganda campaign.  good skills, comrade.

And for an added bonus, we immediately get a poly-sci lesson on the fly and the sly: 

Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country.

From a guy who knows a thing or two about nasty, he continues citing:

There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

This is where he really brings it:

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.

That part, "the law is still the law" while addressing a country founded upon the rule of law, acting on behalf of humanity and the rule of law in every possible way, being the face of democracy around the world, is rich, isn't it?

ooooh...and anything else is "unacceptable" and "would constitute an act of aggression..." ruble-kudos to the prince of peace in international relations.

Oh!   and then there is this:

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it.

you are good.

But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.

you got me there...

No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect.

Because in fact, we have no idea what kind of strikes -- it's somewhere between "our military doesn't do pin pricks" and "unbelievably small, limited" military strikes -- your guess is as good as mine.  And really now, a death is a death is a death -- whether it be by BB gun or sarin gas, right?  But I digress.

So without further adieu, let's hit the big finish, shall we?

My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.

Oh we've come a long way since the day Obama was caught on the open mic with the former Russian President Medvedev...flexibility in negotiations meet the latest rude reception.

"I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism," he said.

"It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation...We are all different, but when we ask the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal."

First, love that twist and play with all of us being created equal; exceptional use of the American ideal, to be sure.  Check mate.

But here's the thing -- from just a girl with love to Putin on the ritz cracker:

When we speak, in America, of America's exceptionalism, we are speaking in terms of the inherent foundation from which all good, all power, all understanding comes; it's an enigma, really.   From the acts of our founding fathers, we gained a way of life, an attitude, a Rule of Law, a free market, a certain self-reliance second to none.  NO OTHER country has what we have!  And that especially holds true for you, Russia.  It was, and IS, AMERICA who has declared "these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness!"   Not Russia.

It is our pursuit of happiness, under God, that is of value to our society, if not the entire world, and anyone who holds such truths near and dear, respective of the ideals, the duties, the principles set forth, understands this dynamic through and through.  Russia doesn't have that.  Have you wondered where all your people are going lately, and why?    What the hell, to the second power.

Due to the varied influences upon the individual -- one's will, will power, choices, complete with faults and natural talents and successes and education and experience --  surely the quality of the individual is subject to change.   But it is America, as a whole, that is truly exceptional.  It's about what we stand for in its entirety that makes us remarkably special, beckoning people from all over the world to come and build a life.

Over the years, we, the people, have diluted the mission and the message back behind our own exceptionalism -- misrepresenting what it truly means, and simultaneously, compromising upon our duty to God and country.

But with regard to America's exceptionalism -- you have no idea what you are talking about, Put Put.
And we get a self-righteous, hidden agenda laden, smack down on exceptionalism from you?


Government is much like a torrential rain, a disease running amok in the body, or a bloody civil war between societal factions too many to count --

"Government is not reason,

it is not eloquence --

it is force! 

 Like fire,

it is a dangerous servant

and a fearful master."

Just a little George Washington thrown in for good measure; thereby placing into context the rule of good government from our founders, and fully elaborated in one of my favorite reads, The 5000 Year Leap.   W. Cleon Skousen explains for us, "[T]he founders looked upon "government" as a volatile instrument of explosive power which must necessarily be harnessed within the confines of a strictly interpreted Constitution, or it would destroy the very freedom it was designed to preserve."

A little rain is a good thing.

A little upset tummy, harmless.

And government  -- a force of good or evil --  is not reason; it's a force, always.

It is conceived naturally, organically, Organized for Action from the grassroots even -- and quite possibly going something like this: "when in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another..."

Oh, no time to delve into the ironies, the use of propaganda to sway public opinion, let alone the frailties of human nature who find comfort in being led, especially on behalf of the quintessential good cause every now and again.

enough.

enough.

My life demands a quick exit right now; until we meet again...

Make it a Good Day, G