The current situation in the Ukraine can best be described with one word, “fluid.” As of this writing, the Russians have successfully cut off, or subsumed, every Ukrainian military installation on Crimea. The Ukrainian Navy is either blocked off, or in some instances been “captured.” The Russian forces have built up dramatically along the eastern border between Ukraine and Russia, and as I noted last week, the breakaway Provence of Transdnesitria, in Moldova, appears to be asking for “Russian” assistance. The politicians in this Country appear to be fighting to a stalemate over the best way to deal with the issue, while President Putin continues to advance his agenda at the expense of his neighbors.
Perhaps, along with fluid, another great descriptive term would be "abyss." While many are distracted by missing airliners, rampant speculation, and aviation mysteries, it would seem that several countries are pushing all of us ever closer to the abyss. Egypt, in a move that astounds many, today has given the death penalty to more than 500 people for political opposition. Granted it is best described as Islamist opposition, but this heavy handed behavior hardly seems to be a viable course in today’s modern age. Then there is “Little Kim” or Kim Jong Un, who is enjoying the firing of dozens of short range missiles from his eastern coastline. Is he testing them? Nope, he is merely showing “force” as a means of protesting the ongoing military exercises being conducted by the United States and South Korean forces. Then there are the multitude of rockets into Israel, Turkey banning Twitter and shooting down Syrian aircraft, Syrians attacking neighbors along with their own populations, and collapses of governments in South America. All news that most are either ignoring, or aren’t hearing about on a daily basis, because the media has decided that we as Americans prefer to see "the shiny things."
Regardless of your political bent, or your stance on domestic policy, I think we can agree that the world isn’t getting more enlightened as we advance into the Twenty First Century. Consequently, we are now being drug to the precipice of an abyss, where if the trend around the world is allowed to continue, we might very well be looking at the kind of thing we’ve grown up hoping to avoid. Sadly, many of us will be surprised to see us suddenly on that abyss, when in fact, we've been creeping in that direction for quite a while. ~ Michael S. Pauley
Perhaps, along with fluid, another great descriptive term would be "abyss." While many are distracted by missing airliners, rampant speculation, and aviation mysteries, it would seem that several countries are pushing all of us ever closer to the abyss. Egypt, in a move that astounds many, today has given the death penalty to more than 500 people for political opposition. Granted it is best described as Islamist opposition, but this heavy handed behavior hardly seems to be a viable course in today’s modern age. Then there is “Little Kim” or Kim Jong Un, who is enjoying the firing of dozens of short range missiles from his eastern coastline. Is he testing them? Nope, he is merely showing “force” as a means of protesting the ongoing military exercises being conducted by the United States and South Korean forces. Then there are the multitude of rockets into Israel, Turkey banning Twitter and shooting down Syrian aircraft, Syrians attacking neighbors along with their own populations, and collapses of governments in South America. All news that most are either ignoring, or aren’t hearing about on a daily basis, because the media has decided that we as Americans prefer to see "the shiny things."
Regardless of your political bent, or your stance on domestic policy, I think we can agree that the world isn’t getting more enlightened as we advance into the Twenty First Century. Consequently, we are now being drug to the precipice of an abyss, where if the trend around the world is allowed to continue, we might very well be looking at the kind of thing we’ve grown up hoping to avoid. Sadly, many of us will be surprised to see us suddenly on that abyss, when in fact, we've been creeping in that direction for quite a while. ~ Michael S. Pauley
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