You've probably been following the ridiculous david-vs-goliath war going on between Georgia and Russia. I think war is dumb and should be used as an absolutely last resort. And stupid men should not rule countries, because they go into war so wantonly...like its a G.I Joe game.
I just read a particularly touching note on a blog somewhere. A Georgian actress wrote this journal entry appeal that ended up on a blog. Its very raw and real. She, like many other innocent people, is stuck in the middle of this war that she had nothing to do with (like all stupid wars).
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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just last thursday when i was driving around l.a. to submit a caltrans permit application, i was listening to knx 1070am and frank motek's financial talk show was on. he had a famous guy, ben stein, of ferris buehler fame, who is also author of many personal finance books. anyway getting to the point, he had an insightful take on this war.
he says russia was provoked into this conflict. the u.s. and its allies have been getting former soviet block nations into nato, something that is understandably very inflammatory to a former cold war rival. so when south ossetia and the other place, forgot its name, wanted to break free or at least be autonomous, georgia's move to regain control over those regions was all the excuse russia needed to launch a counter attack.
even more fundamental though is that this is a war of resources. without western control over georgia's oil and gas pipelines which feeds western europe, russia will have a stranglehold on energy supply in that part of the world.
in the 80s, reagan broke the back of the soviet union by showing he can and will outspend them on defense. nowadays though, with the u.s. as the biggest debtor nation in the world, and russia brimming with energy resources, the tables have turned.
in line with this conflict, we will all annihilate ourselves if we don't figure out a way to live in a sustainable manner. thanks to the u.s. entitlement mentality, we have been slow to adapt, whining and complaining about expensive food and energy prices much more than figuring out ways to be more efficient and energy independent.
i applaud people like oilman t. boone pickens who is almost singlehandedly bringing much awareness of our global energy problems to the public as much as al gore has brought awareness about global climate change. the effort to gain energy independence would bring about what we all want: peace and stability. and the intensity of that effort should be as if we are fighting a war ourselves.
Wow, Bri! You've said it all here. I COMPLETELY agree with you. I do think that in everything that happens in the world, the US (we) have some part to play in it...particularly playing the major role in the world as we do today. The sooner we accept this responsibility, the better a nation we will become (and the better human beings we will become)!
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