ULTIMATELY UNIFORMED

Photo - Argonne Cemetery, Argonne National Forest, Argonne France 1919

In America, if one is privileged to live a fairly long life – say to 50 or beyond, it is highly likely that he or she will witness and perhaps live through a fundamental shift “what’s important” or “what is generally accepted as true. This is mostly due to the naturally erosion of established norms or truths that occur because contemporary generations become separated from three or four generations removed. Those living today don’t bother to understand what came before and what was done many years past that laid foundations for today’s experience.

Tonight I was watching the Tony awards and out came Lisa Minnelli. Now anyone from my generation and up knows that Lisa is not the original. Judy was the original. For those not old enough to know exactly who Judy is – I’m speaking of Judy Garland. For those a few years younger than me – Judy sang more than “Over the Rainbow.” If you’re of a certain age – probably 30 to 50, you know Judy Garland only from the reruns of “The Wizard of Oz” and, of course only seen on television. But someone my age or older knows that They Judy Garland Show, or the 30’s films featuring Judy and Mickey Rooney is where the meat and potatoes lie in the career and styling of Judy Garland. That’s who Lisa tries to mimic – and she does a fairly good job. Frank Sinatra, Jr. is not Frank but he’s close. Julian Lennon is a faint image of John but one can see the connection.

My point here is that the Broadway crowd watching Lisa perform, stood and reacted to her as if Judy herself was on stage and most of them, though they are “in the business” and know who Judy was, reacted to Lisa because their experience was with Lisa. She is the icon to them.

This partial story experienced by younger generations has been played out for centuries in all art, politics, science and social forms. The flip coin of America’s vibrancy – which is its ability to “wipe the slate clean” and start anew, is its startling ignorance of anything previous. This ignorance of history allows those contemporary to reinvent the wheel, travel down numerous dark alleys already traveled and more tragically misstate the truth to those here today - forging future truths based on contemporary lies ignorant of historic fact.

What politicians say in a campaign gets excused by Americans today because we understand that statements by politicians seldom stem form the inner core beliefs of those who speak but in the audience present waiting to listen. Today’s defined audience awaits confirmations of their established beliefs and crafted political campaigns and their media partners are all too ready to oblige. People today know that so much is analyzed and segmented about the modern American likely voter and likely TV audience that political pros have learned to fashion their message and in many cases their positions to this highly defined audience. Content is directed to known audiences and further more, known audiences are forged from obvious winning scenarios.

Normally, two or three generations are needed to create such a phenomenon. The acceleration of information and, in today’s world, the instant ability to proliferate data has dramatically condensed the Misinformation Cycle into half a decade and in the case of modern day politics – half an election cycle.

That is why Barrack Obama can talk during a campaign about shutting down the entire Bush international strategy from “bring the troops home from Iran” to “closing Guantanamo” to rolling back pro-active security measures that prevented additional attacks since 9/11.

In Iraq, while he dare not acknowledge the success of the Bush surge he adapts Bush’s plan to exit Iraq as planned – leaving behind the same troupe levels planned by Bush over time.

The reaction of most Americans, most allies and the public in general to his Guantanamo proclamation during the campaign now has Obama in the uncomfortable position of being out in front of his skis with no plan and few places to locate prisoners who are now safely ensconced within this viable facility. The media has conveniently combined the torture and water boarding issues with Guantanamo prison as if they were the same issue – which they are not. Not enough of the willing left leaning audience has bothered to distinguish –because in today’s “exchange” of political ideas – that’s no longer their job as “free thinking” Americans. Thinking about issues means deciding which multiple choice position requires affirmation.

This modern day malady of misinformation relies significantly on the short term and uninformed memories of the American public. Those of us concerned with the integrity of American political discourse are somewhat numb at this point. But Obama has tossed a dagger through the hearts of many a patriot in his ongoing apology for America’s meddling in the affairs of other countries, societies and political struggles. Barack relies on the short and absent memories of today’s American public for the benefit of anti-American audiences within and without the United States.

No doubt early ventures involving Mexico could be construed to possess some degree of imperialist motivation. Others have expressed similar notions about Theodore Roosevelt’s motivation in the South Pacific very early in the 20^th century. But, indeed, the adjunct Mexican board continues to be a factor well beyond the days of Poncho Via and Franklin Roosevelt undoubtedly thanked his relative more than once as he reflected on strategy to halt and eliminate the Japanese thrust of World War II.

No, in true fact, America has never wanted to get involved in the skirmishes of other countries for the sake of expansion. Time after time, it was American’s entry that saved non-American countries using American blood, money and sacrifice. Vietnam cemented a mind set for the generation of both right and left wing Vietnam kids who were recently escorted out of town (see George Bush and Bill/Hillary Clinton) The number of Vietnam kids have so tainted the understanding of American’s long history of sacrifice for others that all military actions ever performed and ever considered are surely motivated by “Imperialist America” and thus not debatable in the view of the left.

Obama should know better or at least it would be nice if Obama knew better. After all he’s President of the United States. He follows Washington whose humility set a tone for all those to follow, to Lincoln who refused to let a polarized American separate from each other and Ronald Reagan who walked straight into the remains of 20^th century madness and told Europe to “tear down this wall.”

Essentially, Reagan was saying “enough is enough, we’re tired in America of continuously cleaning up your messes outside our borders." There are more important things to do. And thousands of Americans lie dead in gravesites within the United States and scattered in U.S. designated plots in countries throughout the globe.

President Obama – we have nothing to apologize for.