It’s the thankless jobs that matter most.
Listen To You Tell Me Texas Friday 9/12/14
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Recently my daughter, several of her soccer teammates and the associated parents were all gathered at a well-known fast food franchise for a post-game lunch. With us in the restaurant at the same time were a man and a woman and a three or four year old little boy who was apparently their son.
This kid was out of control. He especially enjoyed shouting the same gibberish word as loudly as he could for the sheer joy of watching our reaction. He demonstrated not one bit of self-restraint. While not touching his own food (save for seeing that a major portion of it found its way to the floor), he made sure that his parents never took a peaceful bite of theirs.
All the time this boy’s parents repeatedly admonished him to behave and they repeatedly warned of consequences to follow. Never, however, did any consequences actually arrive. As a result, this little hellion correctly calculated that he was free to do whatever he wanted.
With what we are now observing from the terrorist group ISIS and from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the thought occurs that the scene in that restaurant actually serves as allegory with respect to American foreign policy under the Obama administration.
Not many alive today can remember a time other than Pax Americana, a Latin expression for the seven-plus decades during which the free world has lived in a state of relative peace ensured by a strong, capable and resolute United States. During our lifetimes, part of the calculus of being a bad actor in the world was the possibility of being slapped down by the U.S military. Get too far out of line and you could wake up one morning with a U.S. Navy carrier task group sitting offshore dialing in the coordinates of your front porch.
Following World War II, most of the free nations of the world were able to dramatically draw down their armed forces, secure in the knowledge that Uncle Sam was acting as “watchmen on the walls of world freedom,” as John F. Kennedy expressed it.
Being a good and effective parent to a small child is never-ending and to an astonishing degree thankless. The same is true for standing a never-ending watch in the defense of freedom. But both jobs, difficult and burdensome as they are, must be done lest very bad consequences accrue.
The Obama administration has turned the U.S. into those ineffectual parents at the fast food place. Talking, talking, talking. A meaningless “red line” here. A ‘let there be no mistake’ there. But never any concrete action to punish or deter malfeasance. Nothing in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, the gassing of one’s own people, the overrunning of a U.S. consulate, the concurrent killing of a U.S ambassador or the beheading of two American journalists.
Vladimir Putin and ISIS are nothing more than scaled up versions of that boy in the restaurant; behaving the way they are because President Obama is behaving as ineffectually as that boy’s parents did.
Lord help those parents when their boy turns 16. By then, it will be too late.
Just as it will be for the world when Pax Americana ends – perhaps as soon as on Barack Obama’s watch.
If you see a person with poorly behaved kids, you feel sorry for the kids & the ability of the parents.
If you watch Obama’s weak efforts you feel sorry that he can not do better.
Obama has such a glorious chance to change the world for the better, it is too bad he can not swing freely on his touted intellect.
Instead Obama must stay in his pre -stated box of ‘no,war to spoil his administration” legacy.( 60’s ideology)
Times change. The definition of intellect is the ability to change.
Obama must change to meet the new circumstances.
One of the hallmarks of elder people is that they won’t change.
What comes after Pax Americana? A business associate in Canada pointed out to me a few years back that Canada, unlike the warmongering U.S., had no military to speak of. I pointed out to him at the time that Canada’s scant military was possible only because of the U.S. military. What will a world so long dependent on America do when we are no longer there? Obama has made the world far more dangerous and before he is history, it will get worse.
Nothing is more irritating than to try and enjoy yourself, whether it is eating out or just simply going shopping or whatever and have an unruly child distrupt everything. It is a sign of the times as well as just sheer laziness on the parents part in not disciplining their child. The sad part is that the parents are not doing the child any good or themselves by ignoring their responsibility as a parent.
The same can be said of obama and his role as a leader of the free world. He, instead of doing his job, ignores what is going on around him and instead goes golfing. This is a very good example of what is the end result when one, as a child, was not taught how to behave. obama was never taught responsibility of his actions, everything in life was handed him without effort on his part. We are seeing, literally, how dangerous this can be. obama, as it was as a child, expects those around him to clean up after him and the mess he has/is making. At some point in life, one has to see that one has to start doing for themselves instead of expecting everything to be done for them. It looks as though now, WE THE PEOPLE, are going to have to assume our part as guardians to teach this rebellious child that his behavior is totally unacceptible. That actions have consequences, then ACT upon our warnings…immediately. If a child is warned of punishment for a certain behavior, if it continues, don’t keep warning…ACT! This is the only way to stop unwanted behavior, by backing up what you say!!!
Spoiled brats, whether literal or as a symbol of ISIS or Putin, result from the knowledge that the parent(s) or authority figure(s) will not take appropriate disciplinary action. Although I am not a big supporter of the U.S. being the disciplinarian of the world, just the knowledge that we could and would take decisive steps against such uncivilized behavior served as a deterrent. I say served, as we no longer play that role; therefore these brats do not fear or respect the U.S., nor do our allies trust us. In my opinion, this diminished presence as “watchmen on the walls of world freedom” is an invitation for more aggression from our adversaries, which only puts our country at more risk for terrorism. Our porous borders, along with the lack of concern for the consequences of illegal entry make our schools, malls, and other soft targets very vulnerable to these brats. Yep, we need an administration that will administer the cold hard reality of a belt on the backside!