Curmudgeons for vital National Interests

A curmudgeon is a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas.

Vital National Interests is such an idea given our recent past and probable future. Vital National Interests can be domestic, and foreign. The military types who promote Clausewitz use the idea of “center of gravity”. Vital National Interests and Centers of Gravity are much the same in principle. Rather than bog down in academic definitions, think of the places attacked on 9/11. The World Trade Center was a financial center of gravity, the Pentagon a military center of gravity, and the flight that went down in Pennsylvania was thought to be aimed towards a political center of gravity, either the White House or the Congress building itself. Another center of gravity is our lifestyle center as personified by Hollywood, or even theme parks. That they were not attacked suggests they will be sometime if they can get by our wonderful Americans defending us, and even the constant delays in that year’s Academy Awards and locations suggest others at least thought this way. In all cases much damage was done to our Country. It was a successful sneak and surprise attack.

Suggestions we should get involved in Darfur, or Zimbabwe assuming the present dictator is gone and leaves the place a basket case, reflect at best the indignation of the writer, or the video journalist. Even those who promote the Ukraine joining NATO “never” present it in terms of Vital National Interests, since it is not. And the idea also applies at home. Educating, vice indoctrinating, our children is a Vital National Interest to this curmudgeon. Being able to make change in small business or even the McDonalds drive-through lane, and read and write and even do taxes, is a Vital National Interest for these young people to succeed in life, and be happy.

Now I have my definitions of Vital National Interests, and other Americans may have other definitions. A key point is to not confuse the two. This idea is not new, nor original. It has been presented as the Powell Doctrine, or even the Weinberger Doctrine. And the ideas are dead-on correct.

What is morally appealing is not always and necessarily in our National Interests. It’s a grey colored world. Hence it is emotionally appalling to hear fellow Americans or even Europeans suggesting we Americans go in harms way with our National Blood and Money (now too often having a borrowed element) in pursuit of “their” moral and political objectives. Yet none of them believe this enough to form and join an “International Brigade” ala the Spanish Civil War circa the 1930s. This is a good “acid” test of what is really important, as in a vital National Interest.

And so to our probable future. Too many present candidates have been short-changed in their educations, or become too over-confident about our present American society’s ability to sustain itself without some nurturing. Some Vital National Interest nurturing is called for if our American way of life is even to survive, and our children having more than a third world chance in life. So vote, please, locally, state, and even federal. It will probably take the cycles of 2008, 2010, and 2012 to take effect.

We Americans will be best off if we can stay focused on Our Vital National Interests, foreign and domestic. Now that will take our votes. The idea and principle is not too complicated, and one does not have to be a Curmudgeon. One just has to think about what is “really” important to them and their futures.