Come then, let us remember: Once there was a wicked, wicked man and Adolph was his name, sir. And Adolph had plans, something about an Arayan race and breathing room. (This was before he came up with the rooms in which breathing was impossible.)
The world watched and listened. Then he declared that all he really wanted was an area called the Sudetenland, which was part of a country called Czechoslovakia. It was all very well thought out: the people of Sudetenland were "ethnic Germans" (ethnic was a very important word to Adolph) and spoke German and they wanted to be reunited with the Fatherland. Yes, it was the vox populi, the people who wanted this; what choice did he have?
He'd been blustering and threatening for a while, and it seemed that he might actually go to war if the world wouldn't let him have what he wanted. And once given to him, everything would be fine and peace would prevail and the lions and lambs would gyre and gimble in the wabes.
In Great Britain a man named Neville (see his backbone, above left, where it was found on a dusty floor in the Victoria & Albert), went to Munich and met with Hitler. They talked, they talked some more. Then Neville stopped talking and listened and nodded and came back to London to shout out the news: the world would give Adolph the Sudetenland and the world would not have face the horrors of another war. Cheers all around.
Adolph went into Sudetenland to great cheers and celebration; the natives were no longer restless. From there, it was a short walk to Prague and then a slightly longer trek east to the gates of Stalingrad. Enroute they went through a place then called The Ukraine. Stopped at a ravine in Kiev. It's called Babi Yar. About 34,000 Jews learned what not facing the horrors of another war was like. It was worse than the original.
In the Soviet Union, a good ole boy named Joe thought he had a deal with Adolph who thought he had a deal with Joe. Both men were paranoid beyond anything the Republicans trying to gerrymander the poor, the black (huddled masses yearning to be free?) could hope to reach. Millions more died.
The rest is history; go, now, and study it. Then think about that son of a puta named Putin. Vlad the KGB colonel. He heard the cries of the people of Crimea, a part of a country called Ukraine. The Crimeans, Vlad said, were ethnic Russians, spoke Russian and wanted to be reunited with the Motherland. There were demonstrations of agreement.
The world said, "Oh, no, don't do it Vlad. Come let us sit and reason together." Vlad did it and a man named Barak, who wasn't English (and whom some Republicans insist isn't even American, but if Ted Cruz who was born in Canada wants to run for President, why, go ahead Ted, put the kettle on and we'll all have tea) was faced with the kind of dilemma that men go into politics to unknot. The solution becomes part of their "legacy," which is all important during the second term of an American president.
So the world watched Russian troops cross into Crimea and then watched as they walked up toward Kiev... . The west (as it is called) decided the way to stop this march toward the horrors of another war, was to impose sanctions on Russia. We tied up their funds in banks, we said some of their richest, most powerful oligarchs would not be allowed into the United States. Today, 29 April 2014, the ruble and the Russian stock market both went up. Putin thumbed his nose (or maybe picked and flicked; I wasn't watching that closely) and orchestrated uprisings in other parts of Ukraine and a q and a with some punk named Snowden (his turn is coming). He didn't, however, tell his girlfriend not to be seen with black men, so he wasn't banned for life.
Our putative allies in Europe (Ally: someone to whom you give everything requested as they take the rest on their own and blame you for their problems) are getting cranky. For one thing, they're real close to Ukraine and probably remember the back and forth walk of Adolph and Joe across their respective landscapes, even if they aren't who they were back then.
But even more important, it would appear (and appearances are everything) is the fact that these sanctions hold the very real possibility of screwing the economic well-being of a company called BP. BP does a lot of business with Russia--when it isn't screwing up the American Gulf Coast (which is nicer than the Crimean coast, IMHO--see, I'm learning webspeak. I'm very, very afraid.) BP is making threats (no, is explaining what might happen to prices): it used to be that what was good for GM was good for the world, or maybe only America--but what's the difference? Now it's what is good for BP. Bottom line: the allies say they can't trust us to be there for them and the anti-Barak element says he is weak because he doesn't want to start another war as he's getting ready to leave (legacy, legacy).
Congress makes noise, some calling for war ('cause it'll be part of Barak's legacy) so that we will not be perceived as weak. Those are the same studs who don't want gun controls of any kind because guns don't kill people, people kill people and while a background check impinges on my second amendment rights, we shouldn't sell guns to unstable people (who kill people) but don't say anything about how we're supposed to know they're unstable since they have the right to privacy. (Hi, I've gotta get to church, so can I get that old M1911 .45? Oh, and by the way, so far I've only assaulted people with my machete.)
And we can count on one thing: somewhere in D.C., today (and tomorrow and tomorrow), one of those who don't like what they call "entitlements" will stand up and say, "The American people want... ."
Well, I'm an American people; if you know what I want, why don't you do it? And as you rattle your sabers and wave your flowers, and hold your god up as the example for all of us, regardless, take a moment and look back. All the math in the world isn't going to help if you don't know history: not the dates and players, but how and why. Otherwise, you're condemning us all.
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