CNN, in an article today, says that “In an executive order dated earlier this week, Trump declared that the United States will regard any attack on Qatar’s territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure “as a threat to the peace and security of the United States” itself.” A sentence full of provocative thoughts, and an action full of it as well. It would be hard to conceive of a place in the world today that would be more nuanced than Qatar. Some see it as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Others, an evil assemblage of Arab wealth playing all sides in an effort to accumulate wealth for its rulers. I see it as a bit of both and so have all of our recent administrations. As is the case in so many other murky situations around the world, President Trump appears to be right at home in dealing with these folks. Trump Derangement Syndrome has decided that his acceptance of the Qatari Jet is but one more example of his corruption and Qatar’s housing Hamas leadership is proof that they are enemies of Jerusalem and America. The recent unsuccessful Israeli strike on Hamas leadership was a passing headline a few days ago here in this country, but we have “moved on” and are now focused on Trump’s speech to an assemblage of American flag officers. You and I don’t have time to think about Qatar, what with so many more important things on our plate. The United States Government has shut down, for goodness sake! Our whatever is not going to be funded!
Yes, I agree, my constant inadequate efforts at satire are indeed boring, but, in my defense, there is a constant stream of stupidity in this country of a magnitude that requires satire, lest one’s depression lead to acceptance of our national demise.
There are two brands of Islamic thought: Shia and Sunni. The followers of these two brands don’t like each other, and neither one of them like any Jew, anywhere in the world. Most Arab countries are devoid of much of any financial resource, except for petroleum, and the people of Gaza do not have any petroleum. For reasons that date back to the Big Bang, Jew and Arab in Gaza today, are attempting to literally wipe each other off the face of the earth. Trump is trying to mediate that argument. A person with less love of self, understandably finds it difficult to conceive of that amount of self-assurance, and none of us out here in the hinterland, including me, have any insight into the complexity of his thinking, but I am convinced that he is, indeed, in the process of “making a deal,” or at least trying. Having watched him from afar in working other problems, I conclude that his mind is a river rather than a rock. He pushes on one area and is thwarted. His response is to seamlessly change his effort accordingly and without lengthy explanation to anyone, probably to include himself. This would explain his ability to change his words without having to explain the rationale for the change. (This, of course, stimulates his detractors to yell loudly about his earlier “lies.”)
The current defense of Qatar is a fascinating development in American politics, but the nation itself is even more fascinating. Hamas leadership living cheek by jowl with a huge American airbase that launches strikes against Arabs sympathetic with Hamas is, all by itself, grist for a Broadway production that would fail because it is too unbelievable.
Now, take a good look at us. We learn about this world from CNN and FOX, both of whom, know zilch about that which they are pontificating so voluminously and we are going to elect our government officials to lead us into the future based on that “knowledge.”
Many of my readers associate me with Trump because I voted for him, and I try my best not to malign him, when I disagree with him. Just as they can not understand me, they can not understand Qatar, or for that matter, Trump. I hold that this is because both Trump and myself are trying to understand the real world. And, before you pounce, please note that I am not saying that either Trump or myself are necessarily correct in any of our assessments. I am only trying to explain the divergence in what passes as thought in this society today and generates the “resistance” that is destroying us.
So what do we do about it? Talk to one another civilly and intelligently with the goal to understand, rather than to continue to childishly score points on those that we hate. We are very nice, squabbling children up against some of the most ruthless people you can possibly imagine and we proudly urinate on each other, daily. You and I actually think that we can elect a leader who will mollify all of us sufficiently to lead us into greatness. All we have to do is elect the guy and gal who think the exact same way that we do about that all important sign on the bathroom door! Meanwhile Qatar is trying to figure out how to prosper in a world that includes both Sunni and Shia and Jew and American. And we have a very imperfect president that is trying to figure out how to make America Great Again. Were I influential, I would ask us to adopt a new slogan. Make the world livable for everybody. My thought being that it is the only way a world that owns too many nuclear weapons mounted on too many hypersonic ballistic missiles is going to be able to live together in peace. If you think that is too tall an order, please come up with a better idea or step aside. In any case, quit urinating on your fellow American, even if he thinks that he is the best thing that has happened to this country since canned beer. Please.
