The U.S. has always been wishy-washy when it comes to war. There was a time when newspapers unduly influenced foreign policy. *"Remember the Maine," they ballyhooed when a U.S. warship mysteriously blew up in Cuba's San Juan Harbor. In heeding that cry for revenge, we drove the Spanish out of the Caribbean and took possession of Puerto Rico. That was a major triumph for, "Yellow Journalism."
Now, the digital descendants of those lithographic warmongers are again screaming, "The Barbarians are at the gates!" "No- Drama Obama" calmly attempts to explain to them:
"You are quite right; they are at the gates. Haven't you noticed that I have been restraining them these so many...? Actually, they are on the inside of the gates! The fact that they have lobbed a few fireballs over the wall is inconsequential. They are still behind the gates."
We Americans are not used to this type of low-key response to great tragedy. If, at the slightest tilt to our national sense of well-being, the commander-in-chief immediately does not threaten to bring down the full might of the U.S. upon the heads of the perceived offenders, we are not comforted. It matters not if, in the process, without thoughtful calculation of the potential risks, he offers up to the gods of war no limit of sacrifices from our national treasury and blood banks.
In this particular case, we also fail to recognize the fact that the recent violence in France is merely a sub-set of the Islamic State's (ISIS/ISIL/Daish) projection. Daish is merely utilizing France and Belgium's already, self-radicalized force of pissed-off citizenry. They are the long-abused and disdained Arabic Muslims who have the "will" – and were only waiting for the "means" – now supplied by an all-too-willing Daish!
Even Papa Bush now publicly deplores the unsavory elements that his son allowed to drag us into the now very sticky maelstrom that the Middle East has become. Was that not lesson enough? Are we that daft? Does that reminder not suffice -- dashing headlong, willy-nilly, into an inscrutable fray, fraught with all sorts of the unseen and unknown? Apparently not; according to the digital "Yellow Journalism" -- and a few political pop-offs from the Right and Left – unless we see, feel and hear fire and brimstone emanating from the halls of the Executive Mansion, then, we are being under-served.
Thanks be to "No-drama Obama," the new cry is: "Remember the 'Pain'!"
***** ***** *****
The church bells all rang with alarm.
We rushed out and asked, "What's the harm?"
"The wolf's here again."
"No, he's in the pen,"
Said Farmer Brown, with sneaky charm.
Video of Full speech:
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