BIGGER BROTHER
There is nothing wrong with our being “big brother” to many of the world's smaller nations. Trying to be a Father unto them, or even a “Daddy”, is both illogical and dangerous to all concerned.
Once a nation accepts the Father arrangement with a more established power, it will never be free on its own. It seems to work that way in history. Entire nations have been absorbed and in such a manner. It comes to be natural for the stronger power to continue to dominate the lesser group regardless of changes which should have altered such a relationship.
Rome never gave up any major portions of its extended Empire. They dissolved at home and ceased to be in a political or military sense, but continue to “rule” the subject peoples through the cultural clutter they left behind in the far flung domains they once ruled.
The Viking invasions left their mark in far-flung areas and they, too, faded away at home rather than surrendered the power they had attained in lands far off. Six hundred years of their presence as the “Dane Law” in eastern England left behind linguistic, social and economic concepts which are evident to this day
There is something like unto a “fatherly” feeling concerning the affairs of the nation called Liberia, right now, and in this me of crisis we are apt to give such feelings precedence because, years ago, we were in a father-like role in creating the state to start with. It was supposed to re-order the lives of free black slaves who had been sold in slavery and transported to our shores.
Just what our feelings might have been in recent incursions into Somalia, in Panama, in Haiti, Croatia, and Serbia, and, more recently, in the Bahrain area, Afghanistan and Iraq. It is difficult to say. I have feeling it was a mixture. The brotherly instincts therein have been in conflict with the more permanent nature of the Fatherly instincts found in our attempts to change the peoples involved.
It seems to me, that our Fatherly and Brotherly intentions are in conflict with each other in many of our incursions in our affairs. We need
some time right now in which to determine what it is we wish to accomplish. I, personally, am confident that we have suitable people in place right now to bring about such a determination, and it will be to the advantage of all of us if they are allowed to do without distraction from their task because of petty re-election-centered barbs from opposition individuals.
Right now is a time when unity is in special demand. It appears we have very little such feelings of working together among those n ow seeking political each. “Spam-ing” C-Span with daily rants of criticism is not the way to go about building strength through unity.
A.L.M. July 18. 2003 [c466wds]
