We are still distracted by construction that has seriously altered our daily routine. If we’re lucky maybe it will be finished by this weekend. In the interim, I have tried to stay informed about the ongoing presidential campaign as well as international developments, especially regarding Ukraine, Venezuela and the Middle East.
As far as US. politics goes, I’m keeping my powder dry, waiting and watching as events unfold. My gut tells me it is too early to make bold predictions and succumb to the euphoria surrounding the Harris campaign or to drink the kool aid of the Trump pundits, including the dire and scurrilous pronouncements of The Wall Street Journal.
With more than 80 days until November 5th, much can happen that might dramatically change the dynamics of the election. There remain almost countless interviews, stump speeches, campaign rallies and television appearances yet, all subject to spin and exploitation by the parties. And at least one debate is scheduled for September 10th. Reflecting on the Biden-Trump debate anything could happen including the possibility that Trump might dump Vance as his running mate.
The state of international politics is downright scary. Right now as I write this, the Middle East is on high alert that a major war might break out between Israel and Iran as a result of the Hamas-Israeli conflict. The United States has sent a naval task force to the region as well as publicly announced that it has dispatched a nuclear submarine there. The obstinacy and ruthlessness of the belligerents along with this recent escalation remind me of how events quickly went wrong after Sarajevo in 1914 that resulted in over 37 million deaths and casualties in World War I. Unfortunately, alliances and tacit agreements among countries provide a lethal stew for maniacal leaders threatened with the loss of power.
The situations in Ukraine and Venezuela are enough to make one cry. Months after months, going on several years, the people in both countries have suffered untold abuse, death, dislocation and the loss of their human dignity. At best, they hope to survive, many thousands reluctantly becoming refugees.
Though dramatically different in their plight, both Ukraine and Venezuela share a tragedy brought on by unscrupulous politicians and dictators who seek power at people’s expense. The one a victim of a larger, more powerful country bent on its own aggrandizement, the other the victim of a domestic dictator propped up by self-serving foreign governments.
If all of this is not bad enough, it strikes me that our response often makes things worse. I remember as a young man how the Vietnam war played out on television. Night after night, newsreels showed atrocities and cited body counts so much that we became inured to the bloody inhumanity of it all.
Today, the tragedies of Ukraine and Venezuela risk becoming jaded and often get buried in the news accounts superseded by stories about TikTok or Taylor Swift. Today we are also increasingly inclined to forget the January 6 assault on the Capitol by an incumbent president who didn’t want to give up power. Our memories are conveniently too short and our outrage on behalf of crimes against humanity too short-lived.