Friday, October 9, 2009

Change the Tune

Try as I might, I just can't get away from the idea that we aren't on top of things in this world today. Our nation has always stood up for the good things, such as freedom, liberty and success, since it was founded. Yet, now we find ourselves reviled in so many areas of the world. No nation has expended as much treasure and blood as we have to help the downtrodden victims everywhere. Still we seem to be losing the battle. Sometimes even terrorists are more welcome in certain societies than we are. It doesn't make sense. Maybe fighting wars and donating aid to these countries isn't the answer. Could the solution be something as simple as "Propaganda"?

I read "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortensen a while back, and was struck by how much he accomplished as an American in a very inhospitable part of the world. After a mountain climbing incident in the Himalayas, he was helped by villagers in the remote mountainous region of eastern Pakistan. To show his gratitude, Mortensen offered to help the village in any way he was able. The answer was simple; the village wanted a school so the children could receive a well-rounded education and thus have a chance to make a success of their lives in the future. Mortensen set to work, and was eventually able to get the school built. He found some financial backers in the U.S., and then worked with the villagers to do the actual construction. Oddly, to me anyway, he was not to go to our government for any help, because of anti-American sentiment in the area. Over the years he got several more schools built, the program was successful, and all the local people loved him. The point to this little anecdote is that while Mortensen had to work so hard to get a few schools built, his competition was having better luck. Almost as an aside, the book noted that the Saudis had built 3800 schools in Pakistan. The schools he described were more like compounds, large in size and enclosed by high walls. We know these schools as "madrassahs" and we know what kind of education the students get there. The Saudis build these "schools" wherever Muslims are found in the world (yes, also in America), and make sure that Wahhabi teachers are part of the deal. Any more questions about anti-American sentiment and where it comes from?

My view is that we Americans can do the same thing. Not only "can do", but "must do". The primary reason that madrassahs exist is to indoctrinate the young people with the Wahhabi message. We, too, could promote schools that provide not only a good general education, but our own values as well. All of these countries receive aid from us - we should make the schools a part of the deal. I know you wouldn't get far trying to teach Christianity there, but you sure could teach the value of life, honesty, responsibility, and lots of other things (like reading, writing and arithmetic, for instance). And I don't think we should be shy in letting the natives know who is sponsoring the school. We won't be able to improve our image if we don't tell anyone what we are doing, and why. The effort would certainly not be something we should apologize for.

I think the project will be mind-boggling difficult because our adversaries have such a huge head start on us. We have been told by countless leaders that the fight against terrorism can't be won on a battlefield. Victory for us will come only when the people have the knowledge and the desire to choose our side. Educated people have the tools to make any of several good decisions. Indoctrinated people are likely to make only one.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Do What is Right

It is hard to follow the daily news stories without getting all worked up. I guess one alternative would be to just quit the news cold turkey and spend more time in the shop building bird houses. But, someone has to keep track of what the lunatics are doing, and it just as well be me. There is no shortage of hot-button items, and I have no trouble getting agitated over any one of several of them. Today, though, my thoughts have gravitated to the problems in Israel. This tiny country has had to mix it up with all its neighbors since it became a homeland for the Jews in 1948. In spite of having to spend so much time and effort defending itself, Israel has still managed to become a world leader in commercial and technological enterprises. At one time or another, all of the failed states surrounding her have taken their shot, but without success. It is hard for me to understand why they feel it is so important to bring Israel down. Instead, why don't these countries ask themselves, "If Israel can make a go of it in this part of the world, why can't we be successful, too? Surely we are as intelligent and industrious as a Jew". Oh, but we are not dealing with rational people here. I suspect that envy is the driving force behind all the hatred and agitation, and these nations just can't stand Israel being successful while they themselves are such miserable failures. And they won't admit that that their failures are their own doing. I read once that when Hamas took over Gaza, there were 340 operating factories there. That represented a lot of jobs and put a lot of bread on the Palestinians' tables. It took just a matter of a few months to completely tank Gaza's economy, and we all know it wasn't the fault of the Jews. The Hamas leaders were more concerned with lobbing rockets across the border than with providing a livelihood for their citizens. And somehow these idiots have managed to sway a huge amount of world opinion in their favor, portraying themselves as the poor victims of the ruthless Jews.

Well, since you asked, here is my view. We have already asked the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a legitimate state. They answered with a resounding NO, so the ball is now in our court. It is naive to continue talking about a "Palestinian State", because the Palestinians have vowed not to co-exist on an equal basis with Israel. So, I would do it the old-fashioned way; I would assemble all my military forces and I would march in and CONQUER them. That would make any charters they have null and void, because they would now be subject to Israeli law. There would be a lot of kicking, screaming and the gnashing of teeth, but once they started eating regularly and providing for their families again, they would come around. Also, I would tell some of the other neighbors that the spoils of the 1967 war are now ours - we won them fair and square, so live with it.

You know, Israel is the most powerful force in the neighborhood, and I think they deserve some respect. It is time that the snot-nosed runts learn that it is not wise to thumb your nose at the big guy who could mop the floor with you.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Sarah Has a New Book

The other day, as I was perusing the news items on the Google toolbar link, I saw that Sarah Palin was about to release a new book. I clicked on the first article, read it, and then followed on down to about sixty comments below. There were about two favorable comments and the rest were the same hateful negative crap that we had to put up with during the 2008 campaign. I thought that the source of the article was probably just a typical left-wing rag, so I clicked on the next news source. This turned out to be a repeat of the first, with the comments being about the same ratio of hate/support. The "haters" never tire of calling her naive, stupid, inexperienced, hypocritical, and even worse. Ironically, these are the same people who backed Barak Obama for President, and it turns out that these same descriptions fit him remarkably well (with the exception of "stupid" - after all, he did win the election). All you have to do is look at Obama's record so far. He has rejected any and all of the methods that have worked in past recessions. We continue to lose huge numbers of jobs. Other than a slight upturn in the stock market, the general economy has shown no sign of improvement. Iran and North Korea are openly thumbing their noses at us. Britain, France and Germany, our staunchest allies, are losing patience with us and are starting to openly question our "appeasement" policy toward the dictators of the world. They look to us for leadership and they aren't getting any. Our outlandish spending has eroded the confidence in our dollar so much that we have to send delegations to China to beg them to buy our debt. I personally don't like the way he blatantly plays up to the unions, lawyers and organizers like ACORN. And then, there are the lies. Remember what he said about taxes? About bi-partisanship? About transparency? I have said it before - the means justify the ends; you say and promise whatever is necessary to get elected.

But, I have digressed. I wanted to say something positive about Sarah Palin. Just how stupid and inconsequential is someone who receives $7,000,000 advance on a book that has become #1 on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble just two days after it was announced? Since she left the governorship, she has over a thousand offers pending for speaking engagements that she must sort out. These go for about $100,000 or so apiece, so she shouldn't have to worry too much about paying for all those frivolous lawsuits that were brought against her. Yes, I think she is a force to be reckoned with, and the Democrats know it. That is why they keep going after her. I attended one of her rallies, so I know first hand how electrifying she is. She has won the hearts of Mainstream America, and this is no small matter. However, I don't think she will ever capture the admiration of the likes of Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow, David Letterman (who has problems of his own), or James Carville. Tough! They will still be drooling over Obama, the President who could have been relevant.