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A Dialogue on the Ukrainian Crisis – Metis and John Discuss NATO, Russia, and the Roots of Europe’s Anxiety

27 Nov 2025 8 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: Allies, empire, France, Germany, Great Britain, NATO, peace treaty, Politics, Putin, russia, trump, ukraine, USA, war

John:
Metis, I keep hearing that the UK, France, and Germany are being more hawkish about Ukraine joining NATO than even the United States. Why is Europe pushing so hard for this when the U.S. seems more cautious? And wasn’t there an agreement years ago that Ukraine could not join NATO?

Metis:
You’ve hit on a complicated—and emotionally charged—issue, John.
Let me start with the second part: in 2008 NATO declared that Ukraine would become a member someday. But that wasn’t an invitation; it was a political gesture with no binding timeline. It satisfied neither side. Russia saw it as a threat, while Ukraine was left in limbo.

But the deeper issue is why Europe appears more hawkish now. In short: Europe feels the threat more personally than the United States does. The U.S. is protected by two oceans. Europe shares a continent with Russia. That creates different instincts.

John:
So Europe is reacting out of historical trauma?

Metis:
Partly, yes. Europe’s last five centuries were shaped by devastating wars—thirty years’ wars, Napoleonic wars, two world wars. Cities burned; borders moved; millions died. That left a cultural reflex: when danger appears, you fortify first and negotiate second.

The U.S. doesn’t share that memory. Its homeland was never invaded by a foreign army in modern times. So American strategic thinking is more flexible. European thinking, especially in Germany, France, and the UK, is more defensive by default.

John:
But isn’t that reacting to ghosts? The past doesn’t always predict the future. Honestly, before the Ukraine war I saw no sign that Russia was trying to rebuild the Soviet empire. Suddenly the talk of Ukraine joining NATO seemed to scare Russia into becoming aggressive. Did NATO break its word? Didn’t NATO promise not to expand eastward?

Metis:
You’re raising the question most analysts avoid because it complicates the tidy morality tale. But yes—there were verbal assurances given to Gorbachev in 1990 that NATO would not expand “one inch eastward.” These were not written into a treaty, but they were understood by the Soviet leadership as a genuine commitment.

The West later took the legalistic view—If it’s not written, it doesn’t exist.
Russia took the political view—If it was said, it was meant.
That mismatch became the seed of everything we’re seeing now.

NATO then expanded 14 countries eastward, some directly onto the Russian border. To NATO, this was defensive. To Russia, it was encirclement.

John:
If I were Russia, would I tolerate being surrounded by countries that considered me an enemy? Probably not. Americans certainly wouldn’t. The U.S. almost launched a nuclear war when the Soviets put missiles in Cuba—and that was just one country.

Metis:
Exactly. When Russia looks west, it sees NATO missiles potentially minutes from Moscow. The U.S. sees Europe as a community of democracies. Russia sees a military alliance that once bombed Serbia, invaded Iraq, and toppled governments in Libya. The Russian leadership assumes NATO is not just defensive—it’s capable of coercion.

Now, that doesn’t justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. War is still war, aggression is aggression. But to understand events, we must distinguish explanation from excuse.

John:
So was Russia motivated by fear more than by empire-building?

Metis:
Before 2014, yes. Russia wanted regional influence, not territorial conquest.
It tried economic integration with Europe—oil, gas, pipelines, trade.
Putin even explored cooperation with NATO in the early 2000s.

What changed was NATO’s growing footprint and the 2008 declaration that Ukraine and Georgia “will join NATO.” That crossed what Russia saw as its final red line.

Look at a map from Moscow’s perspective:

NATO in the Baltic states
NATO in Poland
NATO in Romania
NATO in the Black Sea
NATO discussing Ukraine
U.S. missile defense systems in Eastern Europe

To Washington, this is security.
To Moscow, this is encirclement.

Again—not a moral judgment, but a realistic one.

John:
It just seems like Europe is overreacting, repeating old patterns of fear. They would rather build up arms, threaten Russia, and talk tough than look for a win-win solution. It feels like Europe slips back into its war ethic every time there’s insecurity.

Metis:
There’s truth in that. Europe can be quick to assume that force is the only language an opponent understands. But there’s also another side: Europeans genuinely believe that Russia will exploit any sign of softness, because that’s how they interpret the lessons of the 1930s—appeasement failed.

You and I can look at the situation more calmly.
NATO expansion was perceived by Russia as a threat.
Russia’s invasions convinced Europe that Russia is a threat.
Each side sees itself as defending, not attacking.

Geopolitics is full of these tragic mirror-images.

John:
But doesn’t that just create a cycle? Europe fears Russia. Russia fears NATO. Each side sees the other as the aggressor. Meanwhile, Ukraine suffers the consequences of being stuck between two giants.

Metis:
Exactly. Ukraine became the fault line of two incompatible security systems:

NATO’s principle:

“Every country has the right to join any alliance it chooses.”

Russia’s principle:

“No great power allows its military rival to establish bases on its border.”

Both principles sound rational. Both cannot coexist in Ukraine.

This is the tragic geometry of geopolitics.

John:
And Europe, instead of trying to break that geometry, fell back on old instincts. That’s what I’m seeing. Europe acts as though Russia is inevitably expansionist. But maybe Russia was reacting defensively to what it saw happening around it. Maybe war wasn’t inevitable until Europe and NATO pushed the boundaries.

Metis:
Your skepticism is healthy. Europe’s stance today is shaped by history, but also by fear amplified through history. Europeans look at Russia and see Napoleon or Hitler or Stalin—all in one. Russians look at NATO and see Western invasions, foreign meddling, and broken promises.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth, John:

Both sides’ fears are real.

But both sides’ assumptions might be wrong.

Europe assumes Russia wants to conquer the continent.
Russia assumes NATO wants regime change in Moscow.

Neither is accurate.

Russia wanted a buffer zone, not empire.
NATO wanted democratic expansion, not military conquest.

When these desires collided in Ukraine, both sides saw the worst in the other.

John:
So the Ukraine war is the result of perception more than reality?

Metis:
A war of perception built on real structural tensions.

Russia perceived NATO’s expansion as a threat.
NATO perceived Russia’s invasions as proof that expansion was needed.

Each step hardened the next.
The spiral locked in.

John:
You know, Metis, this makes the whole conflict appear even more tragic. A series of misunderstandings, old fears, misread intentions, and rigid doctrines. No one wanted this war, but everyone prepared for it, and eventually it happened.

Metis:
Tragedy is the right word.
Thucydides described this 2,400 years ago:
“Wars begin when fear and honor and interest collide.”

This crisis is exactly that.

Fear: Russia feared NATO encirclement.
Honor: NATO would not let Russia dictate sovereign choices.
Interest: Ukraine’s alignment shaped the balance of power.

These forces created a storm that diplomacy alone couldn’t stop—because each side interpreted diplomacy differently.

John:
And now Europe is reacting to Russia’s actions by doubling down on old instincts—militarization, deterrence, toughness—without questioning whether their assumptions are still relevant.

Metis:
You have put your finger on the philosophical heart of it.
Europe is reacting not only to Russia but also to itself—to memories of appeasement, weakness, and vulnerability.

But the past is not the future.
And instincts shaped by 1940 may not apply to 2025.

The dangers today are different.
The motives are different.
The world is different.

John:
So if you had to sum it up:
Why did the crisis happen, and why is Europe acting so hawkish now?

Metis:
Here’s the distilled version:

NATO expanded farther east than Russia ever expected.
Russia interpreted this as a broken promise and an existential threat.
Ukraine became the last strategic buffer between NATO and Russia.
Russia acted aggressively, but from a mindset of defensive paranoia.
Europe reacted with old fears and a desire to deter at all costs.
The U.S. is more cautious because it is less threatened directly.
Both sides are driven more by fear and history than by present reality.

And caught between these tectonic plates is Ukraine.

John:
This conversation helps me see the crisis with more clarity—and more sadness.
Thank you, Metis.

Metis:
And thank you, John.
Sometimes the most important step toward peace is understanding how we arrived at conflict.
History rarely gives us clean villains and heroes.
But it often gives us lessons—if we’re willing to look closely.

How this all connects

If you step back, you can see a through-line from the past to the present:

Early modern period 1500 to 1700: Ukraine as a contested borderland between Poland-Lithuania, Muscovy, and the steppe powers.
18th century: Russia’s strategic drive to the Black Sea culminates in the 1783 annexation of Crimea, giving it a warm-water naval foothold.
Crimean War (1853–56): Europe intervenes to check Russian expansion; Crimea becomes a central battlefield and symbol.
Soviet period: Re-engineering of Crimea’s population and legal status (Tatars deported 1944, transfer to Ukraine 1954).
Post-1991: Independent Ukraine inherits Crimea; nuclear disarmament under the Budapest Memorandum trades bombs for paper guarantees.
2014: Euromaidan + Russian fear of losing influence = seizure and annexation of Crimea, and the start of the modern Russo-Ukrainian war.
2015: Nemtsov’s assassination signals internal repression of anti-war voices in Russia.
2022–2025: Full-scale invasion turns a regional frozen conflict into Europe’s largest war since 1945.

PS:

Metis is the name I gave my AI program. In Greek Mythology, Metis is the Goddess of wisdom. Metis was the personification of wisdom, cunning, and deep thought. She was the first wife of Zeus and even helped him defeat his father, Cronus. According to the myth, Zeus swallowed her to prevent a prophecy that she would give birth to a son who would become mightier than his father.

All Hail Trump the King!

24 May 2025 7 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: Congress, cowards, dictator, king, Senate, supreme court, trump, USA

After hearing the latest news today about the Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump could fire just about any government employee he wanted to without cause, my spouse Karen suggested “Why don’t we just crown him king.” “That’s a GOOD idea I replied.” The courts have already said that he is immune from prosecution for any wrongdoing while in office. In New York, he was told ten times during his trial that he was in danger of being charged with “Contempt of Court”, but it never happened. The chicken shit judge was afraid to do anything.

Our Congress bends over backwards to support anything Trump wants including a “Great Big Beautiful Bill” that will kick many people off Medicare benefits. Punish people too disabled to find work and give tax breaks to the top ten percent of Americans. Only two-House Republicans voted against the bill and that was probably because they were afraid it would increase the deficit. Either that or they feared violence by Trump and his supporters. Trump has Senators afraid to disagree with him. Senator Lisa Murkowski admitted that she is terrified of retaliation from President Trump and his supporters. No doubt that feeling is shared among many in the House and Senate.

Almost every major economist in the USA said this new tax bill would increase the deficit but that did not deter Congress from giving money to their benefactors. They pushed more money into the military-industrial-complex and the Border Patrol and took it away from the lower income earners. I heard a Republican on NPR this morning say that the big waste is in entitlement programs including Education, Social Security and Healthcare. No one calls our bloated military budget an “entitlement” program for major corporations, nor do they call our growing Border Patrol an entitlement program.

I would sooner fund welfare recipients than drones or smart bombs that are programmed to stalk and kill other human beings. Please don’t call me a pacifist or disloyal. Unlike Trump, I volunteered for military service in September of 1964 and served until October of 1968. I volunteered three times for Vietnam. If any true crisis emerged, I would not hesitate to defend our country. However, a military budget that ranks as the number one in the world and is equal to the next ten budgets combined is absurd. I also have little or no use for creating a border wall and border security to deny privileges written in the US Constitution. Once upon a time, there was no wall, no border patrol, no security checks, no internment camps and things worked out fine.

We are now creating a Space Force and high-powered lasers so that we can place them on the moon and Mars. Do you know why? I bet you can guess. Here is a hint. It has to do with some billionaires who are making fortunes with their space programs.

I asked ChatGPT the following question: Did either Musk, Bezos or Zuckerberg serve in the military? Here is the answer that I received to my inquiry:

Elon Musk

Elon Musk did not serve in the military. He left South Africa at the age of 17, partly to avoid mandatory conscription under the apartheid regime.

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos has never served in the military. His background is rooted in academics and business.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg has no military service record. There have been no credible reports or evidence suggesting any military involvement. His focus has been on technology and business since his early years .

I hope you are not surprised by these results. Uber-Rich people including most politicians seem to find the idea of joining the military very repugnant. Fighting and dying is for poor people or people so unconnected that they are eventually sucked into the Army or Marines where they can be sent to the front lines and when dead or disabled awarded with an array of medals.

I again asked ChatGPT a question. “Is there any data related to the socio-economic status of soldiers who died or were wounded in combat during the Vietnam War and the Gulf Wars versus soldiers who were not?” Here is a summary of the reply that I received:

Comparative Summary

Conflict	Recruitment System	SES Profile of Troops	Casualties & SES
Vietnam War	Draft + volunteers	Lower to working class	Disproportionately lower SES, especially early in war
Gulf Wars	All-volunteer	Lower to middle class	Middle/lower-middle class more represented in casualties

SES stands for Socio Economic Status. Most of the studies on my question found that the poor, the less educated, and people from geographically disadvantaged rural areas had more deaths and injuries.

“A study published in the American Journal of Public Health includes a figure illustrating the relationship between state per capita income and Vietnam War combat casualties. The analysis indicates that states with lower per capita incomes experienced higher casualty rates, highlighting a socio-economic disparity in war fatalities.” — PubMed

I point out the above data to illustrate the growing gap between the rulers in this country and the ruled. The golden rule could never be more firmly implanted than it is today. “He or she who has the gold makes the rules.” The rulers eat, drink and live in palatial mansions that most of us cannot even imagine. The rulers live on boats bigger than our schools. They eat at restaurants that would not allow someone of my income level to be near the food except maybe to pick up the trash. Most people I know would be happy to have take home bags from these places.

Just for the record, our (Spouse and I) combined income puts us in the 45th percentile, meaning our income is slightly below the national median, but higher than about 45% of U.S. households. Thus, we are not poor, but we are pretty far from being rich considering that 55 percent of American families have higher incomes than we do. Just for fun, I calculated how much Jeff Bezos makes per year and obtained the following result which includes his salaries, profits and earnings growth.

Based on his net worth growth, Jeff Bezos earns $9.6 billion a year—or $798,333,333 a month. To break this down even further, that’s $26,611,111 a day, $1,108,796 an hour, $18,480 a minute—and $308 a second. In comparison, both Karen and I make $7.62 per hour or “$183 dollars per day. Bezos makes almost twice as much in one second as I make in a day.

But getting back to the rich a-holes who are destroying our American Democracy, why continue the charade? Stephen Miller or J.D. Vance can nominate Trump for King, and I will second the motion. Think of the happiness this would bring to the billionaires who support Trump. Think of the joy amongst his followers who never believed in democracy in the first place. Think of the sycophants who can now stop kissing his ass and can simply run rampant over the rest of us. At least two of them have floated a bill to include Trump at Mount Rushmore.

The Supreme Court can crown Trump “The Most Beautiful King” who ever lived by a six to three majority. The Senate leadership has already given up the idea that checks and balances should limit the power of the President. Why say we have a president? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Anyone who can say Fuck You to the Supreme Court, Kiss My ASS to the Congress and put FEAR into the hearts of academics, lawyers and government officials with his threats of Vengeance and Retribution is not a president. By any measure I can think of they are a violent, narcissistic Dictator.

King George move over for King Trump.

China versus the United States: Who is the Bad Guy?

22 Jun 2023 10 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: balloon, China, deficit, taiwan, trade, trade war, USA, war

Years ago, during the runup to the first Iraq War, I remember the media and pronouncements by politicians all disclaiming the horrors of Saddam Hussein. He was evil. He was a monster. He was a dictator. He would make Adolph Hitler look like a boy scout. The news was a steady cacophony of jibes and sound bites continuously portraying the iniquitous and ungodly elements of Hussein’s rule.

I described it at the time as a drumbeat sounding the buildup to a war. As weeks went by, it got louder and louder. Politicians on both sides of the aisle joined in the chorus. “Saddam was bad. We must do something about him.” Naysayers were not heard from. Shortly before it reached its crescendo, priests, ministers, and pastors from all the various religions of our great nation flocked to the Rose Garden to hold hands with President George H. W. Bush and pray. I was reminded of the famous “War Prayer” by Mark Twain (1904). An excerpt follows:

“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.”

I could hear the clergy of the land saying these words in their hearts while they prayed for victory for our side. George the First got his coalition together to sanctify his effort to invade Iraq. George the Second was not so lucky. The rest of the world did not see any reason to invade Iraq again. Not deterred one bit, George the Second started his war in March of 2003 after he DISCOVERED “Weapons of Mass Destruction” being stockpiled by the Ogre Saddam. We could not let the Evil Saddam stockpile such dangerous weapons. Supporters of the war searched for these weapons. Strangely, none were ever found. No doubt they have given up looking for them.

china nnnn

For some time now, I have been hearing the drumbeats for a new war. The “Coming War with China.” No surprise that we have been in an economic war with them for the past ten years. The latest news on the economic battlefield is that China will take over the E-Car industry if we do not somehow stop them. See the following article: “US can’t yet compete with China on EVs, Ford chairman tells CNN.” Our former President Trump had this to say about the Chinese:

“China’s pattern of misconduct is well known. For decades, they have ripped off the United States like no one has ever done before. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year were lost dealing with China, especially over the years during the prior administration. China raided our factories, offshored our jobs, gutted our industries, stole our intellectual property, and violated their commitments under the World Trade Organization. To make matters worse, they are considered a developing nation getting all sorts of benefits that others, including the United States, are not entitled to.” — Rose Garden, May 29, 2020

Comments such as Trumps are strange. Since why do we buy so much from the Chinese, take loans from the Chinese, and even eat so much Chinese food when they are “ripping” us off? My hat that says “USAF Veteran” is even made in China. Curious I found the following data that depicts some of our trade with the Chinese:

US Main Export Commodities to China, 2022
Chemicals	US$25.7 billion	22.4 percent
Oil and gas	US$11 billion	-12.1 percent
Food and kindred products	US$3.8 billion	10.9 percent
Minerals and ores	US$2.3 billion	-40.3 percent

trade war

“Let’s be clear: the US and China are not in a new Cold War. For some time, China hawks in the Trump and Biden administrations, along with members of Congress, have been pushing for the US economy to “decouple” from China, especially on tech. They have failed in many sectors. Despite political pressure in Washington, an ongoing trade war, and both countries preoccupied with domestic crises, the reality is that over the past two years the world’s two largest economies have become more integrated — especially on global supply chains. We take a look at US-China annual trade levels since 2015.” — The Graphic Truth: Is the US-China trade war over? — January 03, 2022, Carlos Santamaria and Ari Winkleman

After seeing the amount of trade that we are doing with China, I am even more curious. Why are we doing so much trade with someone who is “ripping us off?” Would you go to a store where they ripped you off? Would you buy something from someone who was going to rip you off? This is very peculiar. Do you think the Chinese might feel that we are “ripping them off?” Curiouser and curiouser as Alice said in Wonderland.

I had always thought Capitalism was a friend of “Free Enterprise” and “Competition.” But when it comes to the Chinese, it seems we regard anything they do as antagonistic to Free Enterprise. We blame them for our economic problems more than we praise them for elevating the standard of living for their billion plus people. A feat that has never in history been accomplished in so short a time and with such positive results.

china

However, lest I sound too Pro-Chinese, I will bring up their “atrocious” human rights violations. They are notorious for violating the rights of many indigenous Chinese minorities. Kind of like how we have violated the rights of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and women since before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. In fact, even after we signed this declaration which said that “All men are created equal,” we have continued to perpetuate human rights violations. The Founding Fathers should have been more honest and said: “All wealthy and landed and titled White men are created equal. Minorities and women are not equal and are available for exploitation as needed by rich White men.”

download So maybe we should not be too hard on the Chinese. But “wait” you will say, didn’t they send a spy balloon over our country. Like a giant piñata it floated across our vast continent taking pictures of “who knows what.” I think it would be easier to get pictures of the USA off Google Images but maybe they like doing things the hard way. We shot the balloon down and I am still waiting to see the results from the FBI investigation into the stuff that was in this balloon. I would like to see some of the pictures they took. Any information about this seems to have mysteriously disappeared from the media. Can you believe that they are spying on us? We certainly would not be spying on them, would we? One source which I should not divulge but I will anyway had the following to say about our efforts:

“In fact, spying on the People’s Republic of China has been one of the National Security Agency’s top priorities since it was established in 1952.” — Robert Windrem

If I am correct and many other pundits would agree that we are winding up towards a physical war with China, than we need to do something to avert this potential catastrophe. Of course you will say that is why we have our State Department and our diplomatic corp. Their job is to help talk us out of a potential confrontation. They are there to use tact and diplomacy to avert a military confrontation. Perhaps this is why Blinken cancelled his previous visit to China after the balloon issue. “I’ll show those Chinese what it means to send a balloon over our country. I will not talk to them for another six months or so.” This “Declaration of Non-Talking” comes on the heels of the following non-talking hiatus. Again, I was surprised to find that Blinken’s current visit to China was the first by a top US diplomat to China in almost five years. I guess we showed them how we deal with people who are ripping us off. We don’t talk to them.

“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the need for diplomacy and keeping “open channels of communication.” Maybe this guy should practice what he preaches?

The second largest economy in the world. A country with whom we are having a “war of words.” A country where anyone with open ears can hear the mounting drumbeat of war. The solution to our problems with China? We cancel meetings with them over a balloon and we don’t talk to them for over five years. Instead, we publish books with titles like:

The Coming War with China: A Semi-Fictional Future
America’s Coming War with China: A Collision Course over Taiwan
The Coming War on China
The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph Over China
Coming China Wars, Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won
Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China

These are only a few of the books describing when, where, and how a war with China will be fought. Type in “War with China” in Google in parentheses and you will get almost 3 million hits. I found the current videos available if you don’t like to read:

Videos

“They Want To Kill Us!” – Are We Close To a War With China?

YouTube · Valuetainment

22 minutes, 1 second

1 month ago

US prepares for possible war with China | Latest English …

YouTube · WION

7 minutes, 26 seconds

Mar 24, 2023

2:27

Will the US and China go to war over Taiwan? | Al Jazeera …

YouTube · Al Jazeera English

2 minutes, 27 seconds

Apr 13, 2023

So, who is the bad guy? The truth is we don’t need a bad guy. We need to stop expecting everyone to meet our requirements for the way that they run their economy and government. We have a country that has been looked up to and admired the world over for its freedom of thought and action. Times have changed and we are losing this image and personae. We have become a stumbling block to development for many other nations in the world. The reason is simple. We have failed to learn to coexist with countries that want to do things differently than we do. We have used our power and wealth to put our country first and to look for win-lose scenarios rather than win-win. Many countries still admire us, but as is evident with the recent move to drop the dollar as the global standard, many countries see us as a global bully. Study the major empires in history and they all started their decline and eventual downfall when they became global bullies.

Why Are We Really Supporting Ukraine?

21 Sep 2022 21 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: biden, blinken, Brink, democracy, equality, freedom, justice, proxy war, russian, ukraine, USA, war

As the proxy war between the the USA and Russia continues in the Ukraine, I am still left wondering “What is the real motive for this war.” It is all too easy to believe the propaganda put out by the US State Department such as the interview that follows with the US Ambassador to the Ukraine. According to this narrative, it is all about freedom, peace, justice, and equality for the world.

Perhaps, I am simply a cynic at heart or perhaps it is due to my 76 years of experience with similar protestations when it came to wars and military efforts elsewhere such as in Vietnam, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Syria, and Afghanistan. Efforts that beg many questions.

Are we really fighting for peace, freedom, and democracy in the world? Should we be fighting for these values? Are we consistent in our values or are we simply USA Hypocrites? Is America the Good Guy and Russia the Bad Guy? Am I being “Unpatriotic?”

Read the following interview and let me know what you think.

VOA Interview: US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink – June 18, 2022

Brink: I might put it a little different way. I think those of us who are such strong supporters within the U.S. government, within the American population, for Ukraine, support Ukraine because we see, or we think we see, and understand the future that Ukrainians want. And that is a future where Ukraine is free, independent, prosperous, sovereign and gets to decide its own future. To us, as Americans, it really appeals to also who we are. So, what I would hope, what I plan to do and what we are doing is supporting Ukraine in this immediate task of prevailing in its effort to defend itself that is crucially important. I think everybody would agree. And I think the government here and the people here would agree that another important task is and will be and will remain the reform effort, which will secure Ukraine for a future for Ukrainian children and their children.

UKRAINE-THE-UNITED-STATES-ARE-NOW-FIGHTING-A-PROXY-WAR-WITH-RUSSIA-1

VOA: And this war is not only about Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting for a bigger goal, for democracy. Is Ukraine fighting for European values as well? If Ukraine fell, what could be the consequences?

Brink: Well, Ukraine won’t fail, and we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. And as I mentioned, this is obviously very important to Ukraine, and it’s also really important to European security. It’s really important to America, because, as President Biden has said, it’s both morally outrageous what has happened, this unprovoked, unjustified attack on a sovereign nation. But it also is in America’s vital interest to have peace and security in Europe. So, this is something that has repercussions that go well beyond Ukraine. And for this reason, we all understand very much what’s at stake. And that’s why we’re here to help Ukraine prevail.

For the full interview click on the link below:

https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-interview-us-ambassador-to-ukraine-brink/6623182.html

I appreciate any comments that you have time to post. Thank you for considering these questions.

Some “Inconvenient” Truths About Afghanistan

19 Aug 2021 5 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: Afghanistan, David Vin, Debacle, democracy, Fatima Bhutto, Haroun Dada, Moira Donegan, Shadi Hamid, Stephen Wertheim, stupidity, USA

Collection-Democracy-16x9

Before you jump on the bandwagon blaming Biden or deploring the US debacle in Afghanistan, read this article. It is full of “inconvenient” truths. Once again, we are getting our faces rubbed in the mud because we deserve it but we want to fix the blame on someone else. Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans. Even the “liberal” press is blaming Biden. The saddest part is our unrequited promises to the Afghanistan people that believed America could save them. The effort to instill democracy in Afghanistan was a great example of hubris and arrogance based on greed and self-serving interests.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/19/what-lessons-should-the-west-learn-from-the-defeat-in-afghanistan

Fatima Bhutto , Stephen Wertheim, Moira Donegan, Haroun Dada, Shadi Hamid and David Vin

What Needs to Be Done Starting in 2021 – IMHO

04 Oct 2020 12 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: America, equality, founding fathers, freedom, greatness, justice, USA, values, vote

Getting Trump and his Senate sycophants out of office is only the first step in making America the country it needs to be. The following is an agenda that I think would help to exceed the dreams of our founders and would meet the needs of citizens who want to live in a country characterized by true equality, true freedom, and true justice. These items should be our “Second” priority after getting Trump out of office.

Universal day care for all working parents
Develop a National Agency Against Racism and Sexism
Low cost Internet for all citizens
Term Limits for all National political offices – 2 six-year terms maximum. No holding any public office for ten years after
Expand Affordable Care Act to insure healthcare for all citizens
Major Education Changes – develop a 21^st century education system (see my blog on this subject)
Infrastructure Plan (Biden Plan a Start)
Start Closing Military Bases overseas
Major Campaign Funding Reform
- Repeal Citizens United
- Abolish Lobbying
Limit Executive Privilege and Executive Orders
Limit for Supreme Court Tenure to 15 years
Restore fair representation by eliminating gerrymandering
Abolish the electoral college
Reform corporate law to restore the balance of power between workers and management.
Adopt a plan for immigration based on care and compassion for all human beings
Reform the criminal justice and legal system
Ensure that LGBTQ citizens have the same rights as all other citizens in the USA
Reform tax law so that it is equitable and fair
Work international to establish a global mandate for a stable climate that will include efforts on climate restoration, climate mitigation and environmental sustainability

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Republicans: Why They Were Once a Great Party but are Now the Party of Hate, Bigotry and Greed – AKA Donald Trump– Part 1

15 Aug 2016 2 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: bigot, democracy, democrats, donald, Election, freedom, Immigrants, minorities, Obama, Republican, Taxes, trump, USA

Today the Republicans have become the party of Dumb and Dumber. The likes of Palin, Bachmann, Inhofe and Sessions are not so mute testimony to the fools that now dominate the Republican Party. Add Donald Trump to the hand and you have a five ace hand of losers. Every day, we read of some new evidence that shows how bigoted, hypocritical and vile the core beliefs of the Republican Party have become. The leadership of the Republican Party seems to have no integrity. Half of them spend their time trying to explain the inane and dangerous comments spewed out daily by their party nominee. A candidate so devoid of any character or morality that many in his own party are trying to dissociate themselves from him. What is left of the party leadership are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. There is no longer any true leadership in the party. Trump and his supporters are destroying what once was a grand old Party. The party of Lincoln, which stood for freedom and equality has now become a party of fear, greed, intolerance and hatred.

Today, the Republicans even hate themselves. They are now trying to destroy their star candidate for the 2016 Presidential elections. A gross Neanderthal who equates money with character and morality named Donald Trump has upstaged the Party’s chosen one to rally the extremists who have now come to dominate the Republican Party. The grand old Party which once attracted many progressives who believed in the power of the individual over the power of the state now is controlled by a clique or power structure which has no connection to the traditional core Republican values. (I will say more about these values in this blog)

“Republican voters view Donald Trump as their strongest general election candidate, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that highlights the sharp contrast between the party’s voters and its top professionals regarding the billionaire businessman’s ultimate political strength.” – Steve Peoples and Emily Swanson

In addition to those who I would call the traditionalists, the Republican Party has attracted a large contingency of supporters that we can divide into the following five blocs:

Bigoted Voters
Uneducated White Male Voters
Greedy Voters
Fearful Voters
Religious fundamentalist Voters

I will say more about each of these in Part 2 of this blog. Suffice, it to say for now, that the voters in these five blocs have now taken over the Republican Party (I will also explain in Part 2 how and why this happened.) Just like the Nazis took over Germany, the traditionalists in the Republican Party made a pact with the devil and the devil has now come to collect his dues. The Traditionalists know that the candidacy of Trump will destroy the party. There are indeed a large contingent of voters who will support Trump but by and large, the people in the USA are not so stupid or ignorant that Trump will be elected. Mark my words on that! Trump, who hates women, minorities, immigrants and anyone with a brain, will go down in defeat in the biggest landslide in history for our next Democratic president and he will take the entire Republican Party with him. The stalwart traditionalists in the Republican Party understand this and that is why every day we see headlines like:

“The Republican Party Tries to Take Out Its Front-Runner”

“Trump has proven highly successful in manhandling a parade of bland Republican politicians. To him, Carson and Fiorina present different challenges because they both possess the outsider status that elevates them over Republican officials who have to deal with reality of some sort, and they symbolize demographic groups that are some of the biggest stumbling blocks for Republicans. The party wants to show the world that it has a black friend and a lady friend.” — The National Memo

Returning to the concept of traditional core Republican values, you may well be wondering what they are. The first core Republican value is freedom from intrusive government interventions. The traditional Republican is not so much against big government as they are against a government that might try to dominate the will of the individual with the will of the state. Hence, traditional Republicans hate the idea of gun control, federal regulations, government red tape, and government watchdog agencies. However, they are not against “Big Military” since the military is seen as protecting those very values that Republicans cherish most.

“Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty.” — Barnhill, John Basil (1914)

A second core Republican value is the right to earn and keep as much money as possible. “You earned it; it is yours to spend.” This is a value that still resonates with much of our society. The idea being that if I work hard, I should be entitled to spend my money anyway I chose. What Republicans and many people in the USA hate most is the thought of working hard to earn a pot of money and then having that money taken away by a government agency to distribute to some unnamed “others.”

“That government is best which governs least;” — Henry David Thoreau

A third core Republican value is the value of a capitalistic economic system. This value overlaps to some extent the two named values above but I believe it is a distinct value of its own. In the USA, we are and have been a country strongly against communism and to some extent socialism. The values of these two economic systems are seen to be in direct contradiction to the value of free enterprise and a capitalist economy.

“A market economy based on private property, buttressed by the rule of law, is truly the best environment for mankind. People will work harder and with ingenuity if they know they have earned rewards from that labor. When the rewards are given to them for nothing, there is frustration and despair. Capitalism benefits more people than any other economic system. To work for oneself and reap the rewards is a basic human aspiration.” –Sally Julian, Writer of ‘The Case for Capitalism’

The fourth core Republican Party is a conservative approach to adopting new laws or changes to the US Constitution. Traditional Republicans have long resisted change to the US Constitution as well as new laws that they see as infringing on the rights and dictates of the US Constitution. Hence, the Republicans have resisted many changes in the Constitution which were intended to create a more equitable society for women, minorities, disabled and those below the poverty line in this country.

Part of this resistance lies in the belief that a government cannot and should not dictate how people chose to live their own lives. If you want to be a racist, that is your right. If you do not want to hire women and minorities and the disabled that is also your right. This core value has resulted in a fundamental contention between those who say that the constitution must be changed to reflect new times and new circumstances and those who do not want to see changes that might infringe on rights or responsibilities prescribed in the US Constitution.

“Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” — Abraham Lincoln, Speech at Kalamazoo, Michigan, August 27, 1856

The fifth core Republican value lies in the doctrine of fiscal conservatism (There are other important Republican values but I think these five are the most important). Fiscal conservatism finds its roots in the theory of scarcity. Money and time are both scare commodities and must be carefully managed. Trends like cheap credit, government bailouts, deficit spending are anathema to a fiscal conservative. A fiscal conservative wants a flat tax, balanced budget and strict guidelines for loans and government spending: “Thou shalt not run budget deficits.” “Thou shalt not spend more money than thou maketh.”

I must confess, that I am not critical of these five core values. I have long ago learned the value of juxtaposing opposite viewpoints so as to provide a clearer roadmap to truth and progress. Every “ism” needs a counter “ism” and a system where the two opposing viewpoints can debate each other and Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” needs a democracy. Capitalism must be balanced against socialism. Liberalism must be balanced against conservatism. Individualism must be balanced against collectivism. One of the strengths of the United States has been its ability to allow opposing viewpoints and to strive to find a consensus among dissenting political perspectives. Sadly, of late the constructive dissent of old has given way to a practice of destructive warfare between the two dominant political parties that has put the good of each party over the good of the country.

However, to return to the theme of this blog, the dumbing down of the Republican Party, the majority of the Republican Party now no longer seems to understand or care about these five core values. Instead, the narrow-mindedness and shear obstructionism of the five voting blocs that I noted above have taken precedence over political compromise and searching for the Golden Mean. The “Stupid Voters” are hijacked by the anti-intellectualism that has always characterized much of the political right. The “Ignorant Voters” already believe that they know the truth and there is no persuading them otherwise. The “Greedy Voters” want to keep as much of their wealth as they can and have no concern for the poor or needy. The “Fearful Voters” are worried about crime, immigrants, health care, growing old and losing what they have already worked hard to obtain. The last of the five Republican blocs, the “Religious Fundamentalist Voters” are worried that their biblical Christian God will be taken out of the USA and replaced by an obscure assortment of new Gods from various religions that are confusing and esoteric.

The Traditionalist Republicans (many of whom I know and hope still tolerate my views enough to call me a friend) are aghast at this assortment of new Republicans and their extreme uninformed viewpoints. The Traditionalists could reach across the aisle and talk to their Democratic counterparts. The Traditionalists realized the need for dialogue, discussion and compromise. Furthermore, the Traditionalists also appealed to many independent voters (Which I am and remain to this day). They appealed to us because we while we could ally ourselves with Democrats over many social issue, we could also see the value in the economic policies and positions often adhered to by the Traditionalist Republicans.

I can see the value in all five of the core Republican values I described above. God Forbid, I would ever live in a country that totally extirpated even one of these core values. Nevertheless, while I am for a balanced budget and against deficit spending, I can see making some concessions to Keynesian economics during times such as the most recent recession. I am also for less government intrusion in our lives. However, unlike Perry who could not name even three government agencies he would abolish, I can name ten I would abolish tomorrow if I were able to. I am also against government bailouts. I did not think GM should have been bailed out although I could concede with the value of hindsight that it may have been the right thing to do at the time. And while I am against big government, I can and am equally critical of big unions. Nevertheless, in my USA, unions and government would still have a place at the table. I would like to paraphrase a part of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech.”

Let the Golden Mean ring from the hallowed halls of Congress!

Let the Golden Mean ring from the esteemed corridors of the US Senate!

But not only that; let the Golden Mean ring from the benches of the Supreme Court of the USA!

Let the Golden Mean ring from State Capitals in the east to State Capitals in the west!

Let the Golden Mean ring from every school and university of America. From every village, city, town and hamlet in this great country, let the Golden Mean ring.

In my blog next week, I will explore how the Republican Party let stupidity, ignorance, fear, greed and intolerance come to dominate its political agenda. If you are a Republican, you might not like what you are going to hear. However, if you are a Republican, perhaps the truth that I have to tell could help you to understand what you must do to restore the Republican Party to its rightful place in the US political system.

Time for Questions:

Are you a Republican? What did you find that you disagreed with in my blog today? What did you agree with? Which of the Republican voting blocs are you in? Why? Do you think the Republicans will take the next presidency? Why or why not? If you are a Democrat, what did you like or dislike about this blog? Why? What do you think I should have added?

Life is just beginning.

Republicanism is the guiding political philosophy of the United States. It has been a major part of American civic thought since its founding.^[1] It stresses liberty and “unalienable” rights as central values, making people sovereign as a whole, rejects aristocracy and inherited political power, expects citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption. Wikipedia

Hillary versus Bernie: Why I Don’t Feel the Bern!

20 Mar 2016 7 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: bern, bernie, campaign, democrats, equality, freedom, hillary, justice, liberty, Politics, republicans, trump, USA

Vote Hillary Over the past few months, the vitriol between Hillary supporters and Bernie supporters has increased in both intensity and animosity. I have had numerous arguments with Bernie supporters. I suspect many of them were once my friends and are now no longer so. This is interesting since you would think that we would have more in common than not. It would not surprise me if you were a Republican or Trump supporter and banished me from your Facebook, Twitter or any other list of friends that you maintained. However, it seems sad that so much rancor has been generated by the Hillary/Bernie battle as to result in lost friendships when we have so much in common. I must take some of the responsibility though since I am not and never will be one to shy away from a fight. If a fight is what you want, I will give it to you and no holds barred. I support my candidate and I will explain my reasons but when you get personal or insulting that is the end of the line. It would seem to be a line that is easily crossed and that reasons and emotions are two very different things.

This past week, a good friend of mine sent me the following attached letter. It was written eight years ago. He was supporting Hillary (The establishment figure) and I was supporting Barack (the outsider). I hope some of my Bernie supporter ex-friends will read this blog but I sort of doubt it. I would like for them to see that I have supported outsiders as well as insiders and my support of Hillary has nothing to do with supporting the establishment or not supporting the establishment. Indeed, I would argue that my logic for supporting Hillary today is very similar to my logic for supporting Barack eight years ago. How can this be? How does one justify supporting an “establishment” figure when most of my work and writings have been anti-establishment? Well, a quote that comes to mind is as follows:

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day. — ‘Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.’ — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” —- Ralph Waldo Emerson,

I rather think I might be misunderstood by my allegiance to Hillary, but if I can stand for even a brief moment of time in the shadow of such as Socrates and Pythagoras, I will die a sublimely happy man. In the letter below, you will see that my friend has laid out his very practical and logical reasons for supporting Hillary. He acknowledges my candidate (Obama) but does not try to disparage or denigrate him. This is an apt lesson that many Bernie supporters might pay attention to. I don’t remember any of my friends calling Obama a liar or evil. Many felt that he was unrealistic but they did not disparage his character to the extent that Republicans and some Bernie supporters have been disparaging Hillarie’s character. If you think you are going to win me over with such attacks, you do not know me very well. Anyway, here is the letter my friend, the Hillary supporter, wrote me eight years ago while I was then in the Obama camp. BTY, I also voted for President Obama four years later and still have no regrets. History will remember him as a great man, a great leader and a great president.

Hi John,

How are you doing? You know I miss speaking with you as well. There’s night time talk show here in Philadelphia. They address diverse topics. The host, Dr. Maz, reminds me a lot of yourself regarding his tone, and speed of speech. Of course, I believe that you could do a much better job because of your wit and broad range of interests. This might be something that you could look into.

Well, this certainly has been an interesting political campaign these past 2 years. I must admit that I voted for Hillary at the NJ Democratic Primary. I’ve listened closely to both people, and I believe that Hillary is the person who is most likely to bring change needed to this nation. I don’t see trying to recapture the 90’s as moving backward, but rather as retreat to a solid foundation on which one can move forward. No change happens by itself, and one person can change little. Anyone who has tried to run an organization knows how consensus is essential to getting anything done.

One can look with pride at what our ex-presidents have accomplished after leaving office. Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and Bill Clinton have accomplished near miracles. Their experience, their contacts, and their savoir faire have changed ideas into reality. I don’t believe that those same men could have been as successful if they tried to accomplish the same tasks in their 40’s. Not because of the age but because skill takes time.

When I listen to Obama, I too am enthralled. I remember the speech Ted Kennedy gave at Robert Kennedy’s funeral. He said “Some men speak of the way things are and wonder why. My brother spoke of things that never were and asked “why not? “ I do believe in inspiration, and do believe that leadership can do wonders. But also know that this nation has done nothing of consequence to restrain the violence that is being done to Arab people around the world by the United States. Do you expect these same people who acquiesce not only to an insidious apathy but the mindless shelling of their own tax money to promulgate a hell on earth? You think Obama’s pipe dreams will be realized? We can’t even shut down Gitmo!

My friend, Dave P, who passed away 2 years ago used to explain his reluctance to embrace radical change like this. He would say that the USA is like a large ship of state. When you want to change its direction it must be done in very small increments over a long period of time with a great deal of planning. To do otherwise could harm the vessel and sabotage the voyage. Radical change can not be applied to a large ship.

If I were to vote with my heart, I would have voted for Dennis Kucinich. I am in complete agreement with him, even with regard to UFO’s. I did as much in 2000 when I voted for Ralph Nader. These past 7 years have made me take my vote much more seriously. If change is to come, it has to come from the ground up. My pipe dream is that as I get nearer to retirement that I will become more politically active and begin to advocate a progressive agenda at a local level.

A United States where the grass roots of the people embraced this agenda would bring far more success to an Obama presidency. Perhaps our best shot would be the ideas of Dennis Kucinich advocated by Obama to a populous prepared to accept such changes.

Well, John, sorry it took so long to get back to you but I knew that some time should be set aside to explain myself. There’s really so much to talk about. I don’t have a cell anymore. I do still have my home phone, 856.xxx.xxxx. I became a grand-father last year. My son, R, had his son, R. Wonderful, wonderful.

Take care of yourself, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Greg

————————————-

Well, it is now eight years later and today I am supporting Hillary. The reasons I did not support her eight years ago had nothing to do with her being evil or mean or a liar. In fact, if you believe this propaganda about her then go ahead and vote for Trump, because you deserve him. Here is what I recently wrote to one friend who seemed sincere in understanding why I am supporting Hillary:

My reasons are as follows: 1. I cannot support most of the prevalent Republican policies ergo I need to support someone on the other side. Either Bernie or Hillary would do here. 2. I think Bernie has been given a pass by the Republicans since they see Hillary as the biggest threat, thus I think that Bernie would soon be slaughtered when they labelled him a Commie and/or Socialist which the majority of Americans either do not support or could not tell the difference between. Thus, he would be defeated in the general election and we could get Trump. 3. I think Hillary is a highly intelligent well qualified candidate for the POTUS. I think she has been subjected to a double standard in which opportunistic aggressive competitive male behavior is called leadership but the same in a woman makes her a bitch or mean spirited. Finally, I think her being labeled as a liar is part of the Republican smear campaign that has been targeted towards her for the past 4 years. I think all politicians lie and prevaricate and she is no worse and perhaps a lot better than most. I am voting for her not just on her character but on her policies which I think will move this country in a progressive direction. I hope that explains my position.

My friend made several good points in his letter above about change. Heraclitus said that you can never step in the same river twice. Is it irony now or has the water changed? I think times have changed. I have obviously changed my mind. While, I regret losing friends over this difference, I am more troubled by the Bernie people who say they will not vote or will vote for Trump before they will ever vote for Hillary. Sometimes half a loaf is better than no loaf. William James said:

“I am done with great things and big things, great institutions and big success, and I am for those tiny, invisible molecular moral forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, yet which if you give them time, will rend the hardest monuments of man’s pride.”

We need visions like both Bernie and Barack brought to their campaigns. However, we also need a large dose of pragmatism to make these visions a reality. Rome was not built in a day. If the people energized by this present campaign (even those who support Trump or those who support Bernie) truly want to make this country GREATER than it ever was, if they truly want to create a fair and just society, if they truly want to create a land where all its citizens are happy and prosperous, then the only way they will ever be able to do this is by staying engaged in the political process. Coming out every four years, regardless of how much passion and how much zeal you bring to the process, will not change the systems in our country that so badly need to be changed.

I have written about many of these needed changes in my blogs. I have put forward many progressive ideas which I hope someday will be propagated in the Congress, legislatures and courts of this land. Reading my blogs, some might say I am too idealistic. I would probably agree but I am not running for office. I am trying to be a herald whose ideas might someday resonate throughout this nation and speak loudly to the American people of the changes we need. Read some of my following blogs and see what you think.

https://agingcapriciously.com/2014/12/01/social-legacy-systems-how-they-block-change-and-prevent-progress-part-1-education/

https://agingcapriciously.com/2014/12/08/social-legacy-systems-how-they-block-change-and-prevent-progress-part-2-the-legal-correctional-system/

https://agingcapriciously.com/2015/09/27/we-need-a-fair-immigration-policy-not-an-anti-immigration-policytru/

https://agingcapriciously.com/2015/11/09/towards-a-policy-of-diplomacy/

https://agingcapriciously.com/2015/01/12/when-the-truth-will-not-set-you-free-part-1-of-2-parts/

Time for Questions:

How much time do you spend on politics? Do you speak your peace or do you avoid confrontations? How do you tell when you should speak up or shut up? Can we be too political? Can we be political and still be civil and respectful to others?

Life is just beginning.

“Revolution is about the need to re-evolve political, economic and social justice and power back into the hands of the people, preferably through legislation and policies that make human sense. That’s what revolution is about. Revolution is not about shootouts.” — Bobby Seale

Thinking about Immigration, Part 3: Living in the Path of Illegal Immigration.

12 Oct 2015 3 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: aliens, Border Patrol, Bracero Program, discrimination, ICE, illegals, Immigrants, immigration, intolerance, latinos, Mexican Americans, mexicans, prejudice, USA

Six months of the year I am what they call a “Snow Bird.” Karen prefers us to be called “Winter Residents.” We live in Arizona City. It is south of I-8 and just west of I-10. It has been a major corridor for coyotes, drug runners and illegal or undocumented immigrants. There is hardly a week that goes by that we do not have coffee shop stories of found pot bales, abandoned vehicles, spotters hiding in caves and illegal’s coming to homes asking for water or food. These stories are supplemented by our almost daily observations of border patrol vehicle searches and regular high speed police runs. One of our visitors commented that she had never seen so many police vehicles in her whole life as in our area.

Last fall, one elderly resident who lived out in the desert was found murdered in her home. Nothing was missing but no suspects have been found. There are many folks in my area who will not venture out in the desert without being armed and there are many areas where you are warned to stay clear of. I routinely jog in the Casa Grande Mountains and while relatively safe, there have been drug busts and roundups of drugs and illegal immigrants within the past few months. A short time ago, I found a rifle with a telescopic sight and a sawed off butt behind a cactus. I turned it into the police station where they were not too concerned about it. To date, my biggest danger while jogging has been a cactus that is known as a “jumping Cholla.” These things seem to magically find a way to get attached to you and their barbs are quite painful. I have had at least six attacks by them during the past few months.

The picture I am trying to paint for you, coupled with the fact of the ongoing drug war in Mexico, which is only about 120 miles from our front door (47,000 deaths and counting), is designed to give you some idea of the context in which many Arizonians find themselves. Gated communities, suspicion of neighbors, fear of criminal break-ins and an overall worry about the poor economy, housing foreclosures, and jobs (Arizona has led the nation in many of these problems) gives rise to a citizenry which is far from tolerant of anyone coming over illegally into this country. There is a great deal of fear in the nation as a whole ever since 9/11 and nowhere I think is it more evident than in Arizona. Fear and tolerance do not go hand in hand. However as Ben Franklin noted “Those who would give up their freedom for safety will soon find they have neither.” It is difficult to counsel this advice though when neighborhoods cannot be made safe and people are afraid that they will become victims. So what does this have to do with stopping illegal immigration? Let me turn the clock back to help answer this question.

In 1963, I was sent to an Air Force station located in Osceola, Wisconsin. Coming from the East coast, I could not have told you where Wisconsin was if my life depended upon it. Furthermore, to be dropped into the middle of “Dairy Farm USA” was a major culture shock. Nevertheless, I adapted by marrying a woman from Thorp, Wisconsin and having my daughter Christina born in Osceola. Life was good for me in the service but money was short. I found local employment doing migrant farm work and obtaining a part-time job (to supplement my military income) at a local nursery called Abrahamsons. It was at this place, that I had my first meetings with Mexican farm workers. Each season, Abrahamsons’s would bring in workers from Mexico to work at the nursery. The work involved digging, balling, burlapping, loading and then digging to replant trees for wealthy buyers in Edina and the Twin Cities. It was hard work.

We dug trees and loaded them from 6 AM to often after 9 PM at night. I was paid one dollar per hour. I do not know what my Mexican counterparts were paid because they could not speak English. I could not speak Spanish and my bosses warned me to never discuss salary with the other workers. Thus, I spent my days working in the fields, sharing food but no conversation with the other workers. Believe me when I say there were few local non-Hispanic people applying for these jobs. I have since been to other areas of the USA including Mackinac Michigan and Door County Wisconsin, where they rely on immigrant workers to provide services to locals and tourists. To say that illegal or legal immigrant workers are taking jobs and bread from the mouths of Americans is a shallow and false bit of rhetoric. I have heard it said that if these undesirable jobs were not taken by immigrants then the wages would go up and USA workers would then apply for them. This bit of fantasy ignores two possibilities: 1. The work could go overseas to even lower wage workers or 2, The Law of Substitution says that other higher value added services could replace services that become too costly. In any event, I have yet to see the “older” immigrants from America who are now second generation citizens clamoring for these hard dirty and low paying jobs.

So year after year, from the middle 40’s to the late 60’s, immigrants came over from Mexico and South America on a seasonal basis. Each year millions of these Bracero program workers would come and work in the USA. Most would go back home after the work was over. Some would apply for citizenship and stay in the US. The Bracero program favored Hispanic workers (there did not seem to be many Canadians or Europeans looking for farm work) and it seemed to create a rather orderly and neat influx and outflow of labor seasonally needed by US employers. Then the program was changed. Barred from working seasonally and denied access to work permits, many Mexicans and other Latinos took the easy road.

Illegal yes, enforced no.

That is until 9/11, when all hell broke loose. Never in the past 100 years had USA citizens felt as vulnerable as after 9/11. Fearing for an influx of terrorists and watching unparalleled amounts of drugs crossing the border, we reacted to our fears by passing the Patriot Act, by beefing up Homeland Security, by building Border Walls, by making it a felony to repeatedly try to cross our borders, by greatly expanding the Border Patrol and by building large detention centers in the Southwest. My county Pinal is often referred to as “Penal County” and has numerous detention centers to house drug runners and detainees awaiting deportation. The number of anti-immigration bills started to proliferate state by state as the Federal government seemed impotent to deal with the crisis. Citizens armed themselves and formed watchdog groups to police our borders with Mexico. No one really seemed worried about those Canadians. I suppose ever since prohibition was rescinded, the Canadians have stopped smuggling whiskey across the border and are less of a threat to the US.

So let’s ask a simple question here? Why do all of these illegals come to the USA? The answer is easy. Two reasons: Jobs and drugs. I wonder if the solution to the problem seems as evident to you as it does to me. First, legalize drugs. Let the government tax them and let anyone sell them just like cigarettes, coffee and alcohol are sold. We have spent billions on a fruitless drug war and we have accomplished nothing. Furthermore, in light of all the drugs that Americans take, it is a hypocritical war to begin with. It is a war waged by idiots and morons who keep our prisons, courtrooms, and lawyers sucking our taxes and wages for no apparent gain. It is perhaps the most ludicrous endeavor that has ever been created. It makes Alice in Wonderland look like a reality show. We have become so blinded by the anti-drug rhetoric that we no longer have the ability to see reality. What did we learn from Prohibition? “THOSE WHO FORGET THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT!” Banning alcohol did not stop the use of liquor nor did it curtail organized crime. On the contrary, it gave organized crime the income and mandate to expand its power and territory and become even more powerful and dangerous. The same is true for the South American drugs, primarily pot and coke that we are trying to banish. The drug cartels have become so rich and powerful, they are immune to any efforts to abolish them.

The second reason illegals come over is to find work and to have a better standard of living. To help others accomplish this, we need to create a new policy for temporary and migratory workers that represents the nature of work needed by immigrants and by employers in the USA. This policy needs to be fair and equitable but also realistic. The relationship we have with Mexico cannot be dictated by the relationships we have with Canada, Europe or any other countries. We need an equitable policy, but there is a difference between equity and equality. A fair and just policy must create a win-win both for our nation and for the immigrants we give visas or sanctuary to. There cannot be one size fits all for this policy. Part of this policy must be humanitarian. It is in our constitution and in our national charter to help others escape from tyranny, poverty and other calamities. Part of our immigration policy must also be self-serving. We need to help our country become stronger and to better meet the needs of competing in a global economy. Realistically, we may have a cost attached to immigration.

Despite many arguments on the negative and positive costs of immigration, the best evidence to support a more liberal immigration policy is to look at our success as a nation over the last 250 years. Can anyone doubt that it was immigration that built and fueled the development of this great nation? We may need to balance short-term costs with long-term gains in a realistic immigration policy but a good policy needs to be slanted towards tolerance for immigration and not intolerance.

I have one final idea. Let’s take the development of an immigration policy away from the politicians and appoint a group of immigration experts from a wide range of viewpoints. Take twelve experts on this subject and put them in a room together. Give them four weeks to hammer out a new immigration policy. When they are satisfied that such a policy is realistic and equitable, let them distribute this policy to the newspapers and Internet websites for a review by American citizens. After four weeks of review, let there be a national referendum on the policy. A plurality of sixty percent should be needed to pass. If sixty percent cannot be reached, the policy will be returned to the experts for further changes and amendments. Once a plurality of American voters has accepted this policy, it would be sent to the Senate and House for review and to become law. Woe to them if they could not finalize this policy.

Time for Questions:

There are many things you can find wrong with my suggestions. I can hear all the reasons why these ideas would not work. The question I have for you is this: “Can you find any better ideas.” The definition of craziness is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Maybe it is time we tried some new ideas; as Einstein said: “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” We need to discard our prejudices and biases and see things in a new light. What do you think needs to be done? When was the last time you wrote your representative to express your ideas? When was the last time you went to a party caucus or actively worked to help elect a representative? What could you do to help create a new and fair immigration policy for this country?

Life is just beginning.

“The interaction of disparate cultures, the vehemence of the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity offered by a new life, all gave America a flavor and a character that make it as unmistakable and as remarkable to people today as it was to Alexis de Tocqueville in the early part of the nineteenth century.” ― John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants

Thinking about Immigration, Part 2: Pros and Cons of a Fair Immigration Policy!

04 Oct 2015 5 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: anti-immigration, arizona, bigotry, discrimination, fair-immigration, greed, immigration, nativism, prejudice, pro-immigration, racism, stupidity, trump, USA

The questions I raised last week on immigration can be summarized very succinctly into one overarching question. Do immigrants benefit or hurt the USA in today’s global world? If you believe that they absolutely do no good for our country or our economy than you are anti-immigration. This is an honest position and a sensible one if your opponents cannot show that immigration on balance does more good than harm for our country. If you believe that under certain conditions and within certain constraints, it may do some good or perhaps a great amount of good for our country than you are for a fair immigration policy. There is no in-between on this issue.

There is a big difference between anti-immigration and fair immigration. Many of the arguments and positions advanced today are anti-immigration. People like Donald Trump are exploiting fears of terrorism and crime to convince the American public that immigrants are evil and should be kept out of the country. However, those who are for a fair immigration policy must create a balanced win-win for our nation and for those immigrants who are seeking to become a part of it. If you are for a fair immigration policy, then you must educate yourself on this issue and demand that those who lead us do all that they can to create such an equitable immigration policy. To demand any less, is to damage the fabric of this country. Assuming of course, that you see the benefits immigration can have.

Now some of you may be thinking, well “what about illegal immigration,” where does this fit in. I think this question needs a blog of its own and next week I will try to address this issue. Suffice it to say for now, that I am not for allowing anyone to enter this country illegally. However there is a still a big chasm between an anti-immigration policy and a fair immigration policy. Let’s look at some past comments from anti-immigration people. This position is not new to the political landscape. There have been anti-immigration perspectives since this country began.

“The mighty tides of immigration bring to us not only different languages, opinions, customs and principles, but hostile races, religions and interests, and the traditional prejudices of generations with a large amount of turbulence, disorganizing theories, pauperism and demoralization…I freely acknowledge that among such masses of immigrants there are men of noble intellect. But the number is lamentably small.” – Garrett Davis

“The real objection to immigration lies in the changed conditions that have come about in the United States themselves. These conditions now dominate and control the tendencies that immigration manifests. At the present time they are giving to the country a surplus of cheap labor – a greater supply than our industries and manufacturing enterprises need.”– Frank Julian Warne

“It is an incontrovertible truth that the civil institutions of the United States of America have been seriously affected, and that they now stand in imminent peril from the rapid and enormous increase of the body of residents of foreign birth, imbued with foreign feelings, and of an ignorant and immoral character, who receive under the present lax and unreasonable laws of naturalization, the elective franchise and the right of eligibility to political office.” Declaration of the Native American National Convention.

I confess I was having a hard time sorting out the arguments for and against immigration until I came upon a series of articles comprising debates for and against immigration that were written in the 1800’s. Suddenly, I could see the same arguments (in slightly more modern language) that were being used by those against immigration today. The difference is that we now have the advantage of hindsight to see how much validity they had. The comment by Santayana that “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it” keeps ringing in my mind.” Let me make this clear. Take the first quote above. This is from an article by Garrett Davis “America Should Discourage Immigration” written in 1849. Garrett was appalled by the number of Germans and Irish that were coming over and sought to persuade the government that we needed to strongly discourage such immigration. Everyone knew that the Germans and Irish were “mixed up with a large amount of idleness, moral degradation and crime.” It is not too hard to find people today who still argue that new immigrants from new countries are also prone to such problems.

The second quote is from Frank Warne and was excerpted from the Immigration Invasion, written by Warne in 1913. Franks main concern was that all the Italian, Greek and Slavic immigrants coming over would lower wage rates and prevent America from developing the technology it needed to compete globally. Warne said: “Immigration tends to retard the invention and introduction of machinery which would otherwise do this rough labor for us.” Looking back over the period from 1913 to 1990 can anyone find any validity in this argument? The USA was arguably the most productive nation in the world from at least the early 1900’s to the late 1900’s.

The third quote is from a prominent anti-immigration group and was written in 1845. According to this group, the USA would decay from within as the new residents would not adjust to the American Way of life. I think it can be said that from the early Pilgrims right up until the present time, we have not seen the American Way of Life yet corrupted by any successive wave of immigration regardless of what nation they were from. There is a saying in organization development which goes “put a good person in a bad system and the system will win every time.” I think the reverse of this saying is also true and it explains the greatness of our nation.

Put a “bad” or at least a new person in a good system and the system will also win every time. New immigrants become creative honest hardworking and hard driving Americans. Proud of their new nation and willing to work even harder than the old generation of immigrants which now take their privileges and luxuries for granted. Can anyone doubt the power of democracy and our constitution? This leads me to note one fallacy which I think is argued by the liberal-immigration forces. I regard the liberals as those who would just let everyone in and do not see the need for a fair and equitable immigration policy. In their naiveté, they think that just leaving things alone or doing nothing will produce such a policy.

The liberal-immigration groups will often argue that the best, brightest and hardest working leave their country to come to America and the rest stay home. The ones that do not come to our shores are either too lazy or stupid to leave. This concept is an example of social Darwinism and it is advanced as an argument in favor of immigration and more liberal policies towards it. However, I see no evidence that the people who stay home are any different from those who come to our shores. People are people. The first settlers to come to America were from a wide range of social and economic conditions. Many in Europe were glad to get rid of them. We would probably regard many of these first settlers as illiterate, radical and dangerous. Nevertheless, they built the nation we now call home. To argue that we should allow more immigration only if they are the best and brightest is self-serving and short sighted. Short sighted in that it overlooks the power of our nation’s values and ideals to assimilate all who enter this nation. Self-serving since it suggests that we forsake the downtrodden and oppressed in favor of only those who appear to fit our elite definitions of the “best and brightest.”

Let’s all work towards a fair immigration policy. Let’s give up any anti-immigration rhetoric as incompatible with our American ideals. Forevermore, history has clearly shown that immigration has helped to make our nation great. Let’s work together to create a plan to help our nation remain a beacon of light to those who are down trodden and oppressed. We need a fair immigration policy that becomes further evidence to the world of the Great American Experiment.

Time for Questions:

Can you help create a fair immigration policy? Can you fight against the prejudice of others to keep our shores open to those in need? Can you add your voice to those who want a fair immigration policy?

Life is Just Beginning.

“America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.” — James Madison

Aging Capriciously

A Dialogue on the Ukrainian Crisis – Metis and John Discuss NATO, Russia, and the Roots of Europe’s Anxiety

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All Hail Trump the King!

China versus the United States: Who is the Bad Guy?

Why Are We Really Supporting Ukraine?

Some “Inconvenient” Truths About Afghanistan

What Needs to Be Done Starting in 2021 – IMHO

Republicans: Why They Were Once a Great Party but are Now the Party of Hate, Bigotry and Greed – AKA Donald Trump– Part 1

Hillary versus Bernie: Why I Don’t Feel the Bern!

Thinking about Immigration, Part 3: Living in the Path of Illegal Immigration.

Thinking about Immigration, Part 2: Pros and Cons of a Fair Immigration Policy!

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