"Pizzaonia Emerging" Courtesy of the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator
Political musings from Pizzoania on the reality of American politics
Let me ask you a question - Is there anything more specious today than critics of the current administration? If there is I don’t know who they are? I’m not singling out any particular political party here - the comments that I am making would apply to whoever is currently not in power.
Democrat or Republican whichever side is out becomes critics of virtually everything that is done. Whether it’s right or wrong, good or bad is no longer an issue. The fact the other guys did it is all you need to know it was wrong.
Not only do you have to criticize the current administration or whoever is in power at any given time; it is important to emphasize that they may be less than patriotic, and at the core of their beliefs, not truly American.
Again, no one needs to be concerned about what wreckage or harm they do by being this critical - this is not their concern - there eye is on the next election and they will say whatever is in their best interest to make sure that they win the next time around.
Here in Pizzaonia, we are amazed at the current situation that’s taking place in Europe with Russia and the Ukraine and the absurdity of the remarks being made by critics of the current administration. Again please let me emphasize that I am not trying to be Democrat or Republican here. I suspect either side is quite capable of doing the same thing.
It seems the Russians have decided to reclaim part of the Ukraine. We could get into the obvious economic interest in Crimea concerning energy that revolves around the Ukrainian issue and how it seriously affects the Russian economy, but that doesn’t seem to have any place in the arguments we are hearing today. Please know we are not defending the Russians.
One thing that should seem obvious to everyone is how geopolitical reactions are affected by geography. The Russians are obviously acting against international law in what they believe is a reasonable defense of their country. Whether it’s reasonable or not seems to depend on who’s commenting. One thing is clear it is in defiance of international law.
However, since the Ukraine is within their geopolitical and geographical sphere of influence, and since the Russians are still a considerable military power, they’re going to do pretty much what they need to do in their own interests.
So what is the United States going to do about it? To hear the voice of the critics apparently the president has decided to give Crimea away - that assumes incorrectly that he could’ve done anything about it in the first place.
We hear a great deal about sanctions against the Russians. Again, the whole concept of sanctions ignores the vested economic interests that European countries have with the Russians and not incidentally the economic interest of American corporations who have a vested interest in the same area.
It is obvious you cannot apply sanctions against the Russians without hurting a lot of people you don’t want to hurt including many of your allies. The European reluctance is not based on some whim or fear - it is definitely concerned about the money that will be lost if sanctions are applied against the Russians.
So where does that leave the president or for that matter, anyone who is president during a crisis like this? Pretty much nowhere unless you consider the power of the bully pulpit as it is called. The president can rally world opinion against the Russians, and I am sure he will do that.
However, let us not hear any more about implied military threat or the use of force. We are very tired of hearing how so many political hawks seem so willing to send someone else’s sons and daughters off to impossible wars. It’s obvious the president knows the difference - thank God for that.
Finally, not even the Russians can always completely ignore world opinion - they also have economic interests that need to be looked after, and market reality depends on a certain amount of good will for them to succeed.
May we suggest what might seem like a new thought to our American friends - how about expecting a little patriotism and political reality from your political parties? What a novel idea - let’s hope it takes place.
Brother Giovanni, commenting for "The Pizzaonian" a division of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, editor emeritus
Comments