Obama calls for 'new beginning' with Cuba

Hiya Slayer! I'm one of those 'old cold warriors' you mentioned in your opening post. I'm not against talking to these folks, but I do harbor concerns about the way the talks are to be carried out.

Back then, the world was a different place, just as it will be in the future. The only constant in life is change. We fought against Collectivism in the guise of Communism. I thought that war had largely ended, until relatively recently. We fought against collectivism overseas in the hope that our children would never have to face it here, that they would be able to be individualists in peace. Evidently, we were wrong.

You can't kill an idea with a bullet. The collectivists that sought to impose it by force, yeah, those could be dealt with rough. But not the idea itself. Now, the idea seems to have insinuated itself into society in general here. It's fine to talk about such things in the abstract, but when push comes to shove - well, there's gonna be a whole lotta shovin' goin' on. Here. My kids will have to deal with it in spite of my efforts.

I use the term 'collectivism' as a broader description that includes communism, socialism, marxism, well, a lot of those left-leaning 'isms'. Its opposition is not capitalism, as the argument has generally been framed, but rather individualism. In every case that I know of where any form of 'collectivism' has taken hold, it has devolved into totalitarianism. Individualism generally has not, simply because you can't get enough individualists to agree on the same emperor in the first place, so he never gets enough power to become a totalitarian, much less gain the ability to consolidate that power. THAT is what I fought against, that centralization of power. Over the past couple of decades, it's been going on right here, at an accelerating pace. Eventually, a tipping point will be reached.

So no, I'm not opposed to talking to, or trading with, despots in any OTHER country. But I would much prefer that they keep their own 'isms' to their own populace, and not export it to us. By the same token, we by rights ought to keep our own 'isms' amongst ourselves, and not export them to places where they aren't welcome. Those folks have the right to pick their own poison, same as we do.

As a side note, the 'enemy' soldiers I've run into, Cuban and Soviet alike (that tells how old I am - Soviets are no more), were not the boogey men that Americans were led to believe. They were just soldiers, and soldiers are pretty much the same the world over. Conversely, and perhaps much to my chagrin, we weren't the same boogey men that THEY were told we were by their governments. Or so I was told. People are people.

In a perfect world, folks would be able to get along, talk, party, and trade with one another, without animosity, each looking after his own affairs. In practice, in this imperfect world, someone will always try to force their options upon everyone else, and get into 'the other's' business, which is none of theirs. That's when the trouble starts, and THAT is what we have to guard against.

In conclusion, I know an old WWII vet who was pulled, half frozen, out of a snowdrift by two German soldiers, and made a POW. Spent the rest of the war in a prison camp. 30 or 40 years later, he went back to Germany for a reunion, and met the same two German soldiers. They took him out to dinner, and a good time was had by all. Enemies don't have to stay enemies forever, there's always a new crew waiting around the corner, just itching to be your new enemy. When the war is over, you just grease up your rifle and wait on the next enemy. Have a drink with the former enemies while you wait.

nenothtu out



[edit on 2009/4/19 by nenothtu]