President Obama's vision of positioning the United States for success in
the 21st Century in a global world re peace and prosperity
based on The Common Good has always been relatively clear to me but as way too many in Congress appear to be ready to kill
the P5+1 -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia
and Germany -- along with the European Union long-term comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran --
if anyone has missed said vision please allow me to get you started on catching
up:
... But
the world must remember that it was not simply international
institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought
stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we
have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America
has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with
the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The
service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted
peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to
take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden
not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of
enlightened self-interest -- because we seek a better future for our
children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be
better if others' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and
prosperity.
So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another -- that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.
So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable truths -- that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." A gradual evolution of human institutions.
What
might this evolution look like? What might these practical
steps be?
... America's
commitment to global security will never waver. But in a world
in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more complex, America
cannot act alone. America alone cannot secure the peace.
This is true in Afghanistan. This is true in failed states like
Somalia, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human
suffering. And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable
regions for years to come.
The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries, and other friends and allies, demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they've shown in Afghanistan. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That's why NATO continues to be indispensable. That's why we must strengthen U.N. and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That's why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to Oslo and Rome; to Ottawa and Sydney; to Dhaka and Kigali -- we honor them not as makers of war, but of wagers -- but as wagers of peace.
The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries, and other friends and allies, demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they've shown in Afghanistan. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That's why NATO continues to be indispensable. That's why we must strengthen U.N. and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That's why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to Oslo and Rome; to Ottawa and Sydney; to Dhaka and Kigali -- we honor them not as makers of war, but of wagers -- but as wagers of peace.
... As
the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human
beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we're all
basically seeking the same things; that we all hope for the chance to
live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for
ourselves and our families.
And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.
Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.
And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.
Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.
Somewhere
today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees
he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere
today, in this world, a young professor awaits the brutality of her
government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a
mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her
child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to
school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place
for that child's dreams.
Let
us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression
will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can
admit the intractability of deprivation, and still strive for
dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war,
and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the
story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at
this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.
You can watch the video in it's entirety here:
Two
~ A select reminder from the President of just who it is we've been waiting for to make change and;
Three
~ A select call to action to be used to stand and to be counted in support of
letting diplomacy work in conjunction with our President, courtesy of Code Pink;
You can find more information on the Iran Nuclear Agreement here.
Any next steps are, of course, your own ...
G., aka
Partisan Democrat
(
Please follow me at http://gkmtnblogs.blogspot.com/
where
you can sign up for an e-mail notification when GKMTNblogs posts! )
No comments:
Post a Comment