Watching Fareed Zakaria this morning provoked the below. In short you can see our attitudes towards refugees and human rights changing. To be more specific you can see both refugees and human rights being abandoned. Further, considering the renewed focus and interests on nation states today, it is or should not be surprising.
Syria, one of the biggest producers of refugee populations in the last five to ten years is in the news currently, not because of the refugee problem, not because it's government continues to bomb and attack is own people, but because in one instance they used chemical weapons as opposed to the usual barrel bombs they are known for. And then of course there are several handful of attacks involving chlorine gas in between to further muddy waters. I digress.
Of course Syria is complicated. With ISIS having attempted to build their caliphate there, plus the Iranians and Russians propping up up the Assad regime, it is a mess. No one really wants to jump into that. Talk about a pit into which, one can lose one's treasure, both lives and gold. That said, we have now twice made a commitment, an assertion there regarding chemical weapons. And yes we did largely clean up ISIS, but twice now we have also spoken out about and responded to the use of chemical weapons. Chemical weapons are inhuman and will not be tolerated.
That is where we have drawn the line. Chemical Weapons will not be tolerated. Regarding the use of 'normal' munitions such as barrel bombs and the like, or the disputed claims of hospitals being attacked and bombed. We will not visit these. Nor the fact that these bombings are on Syria's own people. We are not going to challenge any of these items. And it is noted that to raise these would require some investment, and it is proper that if you cannot or will not put your money where your mouth is, then perhaps do not bother. Yet, in the end, something more should be said and done.
And this does not mean purely military action. I include diplomatic, humanitarian, and military action. We have pretty much done nothing. We have sent a hundred cruise missiles or so and that is it. And diplomacy and humanitarian aid is needed as much if not more. There goes that treasure. . . We have done nothing there. Nothing.
Syria illustrates our inability and our disinterest in diplomacy and humanity. Yes I said humanity. There is a growing trend to focus not on humanity but on citizenry. Our lack of action in Syria goes hand in hand with the nationalism that is discussed today. It goes hand in hand with the dislike, distaste and fear of globalism and globalization. There are two concepts under attack there. Free trade as in international trade, and human rights.
I have supported free trade previously but I have not touched upon human rights before. Not directly. My essays on the "two freedoms" does approach the issue, but I want to comment on the idea of human rights here briefly. Syria becomes an example, it becomes the canary in coal mine, of our abandonment of human rights, in our lack of interest in its refugees, and with that our lack off interest in humanity, humanitarian causes. They are all one in the same.
Our disinterest is these refugees, which so far this year we have allowed eleven into our our country. confirms our disinterest in human rights, which can be seen in our diplomacy. It can be seen in the resignation of the UN Human rights Chief, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Hussein. His resignation and those refugees are tied together. And part of it is the cost of human rights. To properly defend human rights does require a budget, but that budget was never a major piece of the US Government's budget. Cost is part of why we walk away from refugees, and human rights. It is not the primary reason we walk away from such.
The reason we walk away is our current acceptance of the idea of taking care of those within. It is said today that we need to take care of our people. take care of our homeless. take care of our veterans, our children. . . all noble causes and propositions. Previously we have felt that we could work on all of these, and help those outside our borders. . . and chew gum at the same time. We no longer accept that. we have come to accept that we cannot serve both those in need in and beyond our borders.
That is again an argument based on wealth and riches. We do not have enough to share with all. At no time in the past did we ever believe that we could solve the problems of the world. If we did, that was a mistake. I believe we for the most part believed that we could improve the situation in and beyond our borders, but that no where could we solve anyone's problems. They are not our's to solve. And then of course there are other motives for helping others, both in and outside our borders. I focus not on these here.
Here I point to two words: human and / or citizen.
Do we have rights as humans or do we have rights as citizens? Do we recognize the other as a human who is entitled to certain rights, or do we first ask of their nation of origin, and their personal history and then make a decision as to how we proceed? Further, what is a right? Seriously, how does a human have a right if not under a government. Can one have a right without some type of political force, a state or the like, to protect and serve that right.
That is today's challenge. Previously it was a mix. You were both, and people could be creative regarding their answers. That solution seems unacceptable today. You are today either a citizen or a human. You no longer can be both.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Who are my Russian fans?
There is something going on in Russia. I experience it first hand. I maintain this blog where I today mainly post about politics and philosophy. Nothing too exciting. Now when I post I have a few hits. those mainly come from the US. Not many. I am talking maybe 50 for a good post. I write them for myself and a handful of folks and anyone else who might trip over them.
Now if I do not post then I just get random visitors. This week I posted nothing. The last post was regarding the EPA and was posted on March 27th.
This past week I had a total of ten visits to the site. Eight of those were from Russia. And unless I post that is the common consequent. The majority of visitors for weeks where I do not posts are coming from Russia. Regardless of whether I post or not, the Russians, probably bots check out my site and it has been that way for awhile. Interestingly, Russian visitors do not bother with the Wild West, just my political blog.
No idea who or what they are. I am posting this here on this site. I want to see if I get any response, Who knows maybe some Russian Poli-Sci student is a fan. I doubt it. If I have such a fan or fans. . . please identify yourself!
If I see no response, I am going to look for some way to at least eliminate "bot" traffic.
Thanks.
Bob Schaffer
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