In the heads of men like John McCain and George Bush international relations are bi-polar. It’s “us” and “them,” whether they are terrorists, aging communist societies, or Islamo-fascists. We’ll never talk to “them” until they surrender to “us.” Until then, we’ll keep on invading, killing, confining, blockading, and torturing. Until then, diplomacy is a dirty word.
Unfortunately for “us,” international relations no longer fit the McCain/Bush bi-polar frame. The United States is only one player in a multi-player global context in which Uncle Sam no longer controls the show, the value of his currency, or the price of oil. The reality is the reverse. The price of oil determines the value of the dollar and the global petroleum reserves have probably peaked. China’s demand for oil will soon equal and surpass the demand of the United States, driving down the value of the dollar even further. Russia, China, and Venezuela have taken state control of oil production and exportation giving them centralized power to assault the American dollar. OPEC and others could soon decide to peg the price of oil to EURO’s rather than the dollar, thereby removing the international currency dominance of the United States. The collapse of the dollar may be accompanied by environmental collapse through global warming. To anyone who is conscious, international relations are not bi-polar, they are pluralistic and multi-lateral.
The only non-violent conflict management method we have devised to effectively deal with international multi-lateral conflict is diplomacy. Rather than employ it, McCain/Bush types call it Munich-style “appeasement” revealing their profound historical ignorance. As George Carlin would say, their bi-polar thinking is “bullshit and it’s bad for ya.”
I could not agree with you more…It’s an extremely frightening time for us internationally. I certainly hope that our coming election will bring change to the way the we relate to the rest of the world, and that definitely means “No” to Mc Cain!