Today is Memorial Day in America. It is a national holiday dedicated to honoring our war dead. The first official Memorial Day was held in 1868 and like much of the legacy of the Civil War it had some ugliness to it. While I’m much more of a dove than a hawk I can admit that sometimes wars are necessary. What worries me is that we could easily be led into an unjustified war for no reason other than to provide the current occupant of the White House with a diversion and chance at unifying the country behind him. Let’s explore.
With each day it seems like Donald Trump is coming closer to removal from office. Perhaps the biggest challenge I have in writing this blog is deciding which breaking story related to Russiagate to comment on. Nothing garners media coverage better than a war. The old adage of politics stopping at the water’s edge seems to have died in most instances, but attack the United States and all the partisan bickering takes a back seat to a united front. Think of Congress in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
In the short run what would portray Trump in a better light and keep the Russiagate out of the headlines better than a war? The nation would look to him as a fearless leader. It would become unpatriotic to question him. Then President Woodrow Wilson was opposed to the women’s suffrage movement and the protests of suffragettes were viewed as unpatriotic during World War I. The war ended, Wilson shifted his position and the 19th Amendment was ratified all in short order.
To date Trump has displayed a talent for controlling the news cycle (often to his detriment) and keeping his core base together. Bubba would certainly like a tough talking Trump and the news would give a war wall to wall coverage.
Trump has a certain “talent’ for insulting foreign leaders (especially allies). How difficult is it to envision him starting a war with someone? In the process he would create a new boogeyman for the right wing. If he could make us think this new enemy had attacked us or really posed a threat most of the population would fall in line. How many Americans knew that Grenada existed before Ronald Reagan invaded it?
When I first started calling this administration an organized criminal enterprise with the purpose of financially enriching the Trump family and a few close friends I bet a lot of my readers took that with a grain of salt or considered it hyperbole. With almost each passing day the growing scandal takes on more of a financial aspect. We know Trump has a lust for money. Is it also possible that he is cash poor? Many of the dots seem to link to money laundering and other get rich quick schemes. Is it possible that Trump won’t release his taxes because he doesn’t want us to know his and his family’s loan liabilities? Russiagate does appear to link to Putin controlled Russian banks.
I hate to see even one American die defending this country! In a legitimate war it is one of those ugly facts of life. I am thankful for the sacrifices of our war dead. In particular I am thankful for those of the Greatest Generation who won World War II and in the process made my life much better. My generation never reached their greatness nor did the one that followed. I see the potential for that level of greatness in our current youth. Sacrificing them in an immoral war just to keep Trump’s skimming machine going a bit longer would be a tragedy of a magnitude never before seen in America. Be vigilant!
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