Finally some sense out of DC
Words of wisdom from a senator with populist potential
Are you tired of this stupid war in Ukraine yet? Would you like to see the Slavs, your Christian brethren (well, not all of them [and not all of you, for that matter]), stop killing each other? Do you want to put a stop to the giant sucking sound of the billions we're sending over there, most of it disappearing into the corrupt hands of connected parties and going to Paris shopping sprees for Mme. Zelenski? Want to see food prices go down? Want to see your brothers and sisters in Western Europe survive the winter and not die of cold?
Well, finally, sane words by a congressman concerning our involvement in the Ukraine war. Hear the words of Rand Paul, in this recent address before a special, joint session of Congress to discuss US policy toward Ukraine and Russia, that CNN and NPR conveniently failed to tell you about. Unlike what you'd expect from any other senator, the speech sounds downright Paulian (as in Ron Paulian- the guy who shook things up a bit by twice running for president on a platform of constitutionalism, fiscal responsibility and non-intervention).
Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned. The United States has a solemn obligation to play a part of impartial mediation and speak the counsels of peace and accommodation, not as a partisan, but as a friend.
This great country of ours...should show herself in this time...a nation fit beyond others to exhibit the fine poise of undisturbed judgment, the dignity of self-control, the efficiency of dispassionate action, a nation that neither sits in judgment upon others nor is disturbed in her own counsels and keeps herself fit and free to do what is honest and disinterested and truly serviceable for the peace of the world.
Wow. I haven't heard language like that, expressing such high statesmanship and splendid patriotism from a Senator or any government official in a very long time; it's even beyond Ron Paulian. In fact, it almost sounds like it comes from a time when America was supposedly the most literate country on earth. I wonder if the speech was even understandable for the lawmakers who heard it.
OK. Sorry. Those words were not meant for a John Fetterman level of comprehension, and Rand Paul didn’t utter them. Those are the words of President Woodrow Wilson in the first weeks of WW1. This was two years after his election and two years before the 1916 election so you gotta wonder- He wasn't in the middle of a campaign, so were those his true thoughts? Had they not blackmailed him yet? Was he sincerely thinking of doing the right thing and remaining neutral? He'd already sold the country out by signing the conceived-in-secret Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which he grievously lamented later, so you can't say he was unsullied. I guess I'm asking, was this a president who had some power and inclination to do the right thing, or was he just going by the playbook and acting according to orders, even with his populist speeches? After all, he eventually pulled the old switcheroo, followed orders and got us into WW1, 'cause Germans were torpedoing munitions ships 'n stuff.
Once again, my apologies. I probably shouldn't engage in this trickery, lest readers rebel. I just can't help wishing we had people in government with a backbone to say and do the right thing. It's sort of a The Way Things Ought to Be exercise in wishful thinking. Sue me, already!
In any case, I'm enjoying the book I got those Wilson lines from.
And I can't wait to meet the author of the book, a U of M professor, who, God willing, will autograph my copy and agree to an interview!
PS: We already know what happens to lawmakers who stand up for peace and neutrality. It's been going on over a hundred years. Robert La Follette was a dupe of the Kaiser and anyone who opposes our march to Nuclear Armageddon in Ukraine is a dupe of Czar Vlad.
