The handwriting has been on the wall a long time

The period of Nation Inc. has come and gone. The period of business Inc. is still alive and well. The period of National interests is always alive and well. The various convergences of all the above confuses the basics. People act in their own self interests, and those who wish to manipulate and influence them must be more indirect and devious than even during the recent western colonial times. Those who are cruder can use bribes and temporary situations to advance their causes. But always in the end it comes down to self interests, the most basic being family security and opportunity for a family future. Any imposer and imposter will be abused and taken advantage of by the locals. Use Arab Al-Qaeda in the Muslim portions of the Philippines, or Indonesia as examples of the locals abusing the foreigners, as in taking their money and then being themselves. Use the South Koreans in northern Iraq, Kurdistan, as an example of Nation, Inc., where their business is being backed up by the South Korean military. Use the Russians in Iran as recent examples of business, Inc.

Perhaps the recent reporting of the surge’s successes in Iraq is something else. Perhaps it is not.

What is important is our USA national interests. And perhaps the recent, in history, politics of personal destruction, has reduced our USA skills at too many levels, executive and congressional, state, and local. And perhaps the rise of the two national parties has worked against our USA national interests. The handwriting has been on the wall a long time. And it is local, state, and federal. Only the vote can change things now to best represent our national interests.

Lest national interests sound as too lofty a national goal, most of us need to revert to the local level, as in the basics. Let Family security and kids education still be the number one requirement locally. Let states still maintain roads and bridges as a major priority. Let the federal government just maintain our borders as a major priority. Only then can more lofty socialist ideas, like helping our poor with our public taxes come into the voting equation.

While most of us in the USA don’t think of ourselves as third world, our human instincts are just that that. In other words, we can apply our instincts and experience to the rest of the world, and our respect for them if we are to be savvy and respectful. So rather than be forceful and also naïve about our fellow human beings, we can do better just being ourselves. This is a powerful assumed worldly mandate, even when ameliorated by all the family, business, military, social, and political impacts, especially when money is involved. Said another way, we in our new world have the temporary luxury (for at least a couple of decades) to balance ideals with reality in a way that can change the world. If that fails, mostly do to poor western and eastern leaders acting in more short term interests, then we can still be some kind of uncoordinated beacon for the future. In my modified version of the 1970’s movie Jeremiah Johnson, lord hope it be a USA person.