Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?
One is fair with hair the color of straw, combed from bottom to cover a balding top.
The other is dark with hair the color of night, billowing from the top and over shaved sides.
Both see the world through their point of view, growing ever so narrow as they tweet back and forth.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the scariest of them all.
Who is the scariest of them all? At this point it is hard to say who we should fear more, the fair haired tweeting wanna be warlord or the baby faced wanna be king dictator. Both are acting like school yard enemies, circling the kick ball court, waiting for someone to dare them to make the first move. They circle, and taunt one another, flexing their muscles with subtle statements of impending violence, threatening to shoot off their weapons.
What is even more amazing in this macabre playground is China and Russia are encouraging restraint. Let’s think about that for a minute, shall we?
Russia and China are now the voices of reason, calling for restraint and caution. Yep, you read that right. Russia and China are not the aggressors, they are the global powers telling others to act rationally. They are telling the President of the United States of America to exercise caution, show restraint, to let cooler heads prevail and to not shoot off missiles and lead the world into a war no one can win. I never thought I would see the day when a POTUS would resort to calling another country’s leader names, such as “little rocket man” and taunting such a man with not so veiled threats of war. Regardless of their politics, name calling is never an appropriate, or effective, diplomatic tool.
You are probably saying, “we know all of this, we watch the news, we read the headlines, we follow the tweets, stop rehashing old news. You are probably saying, tell us something we don’t know, like “why are you blue?” Well let me tell you the story. I had just settled down in my bed for a long afternoon nap when I heard something rattle the top of my tin. I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. What did my wandering eye find when I awoke from my nap? I arose from my tin to find bomber jets flying over South Korea. The U.S. flew bombers over the Korean Peninsula. Roses are red, violets are blue, I went to sleep green and woke up without a clue, and blue. I am not sure how this metamorphosis happened, but I have a working hypothesis as to why.
I woke up from a pleasant afternoon nap to a world where simple threats were not enough. The U.S. flew bombers over the Korean Peninsula. I know, I have to stop saying it, but come on. Bombers over Korea. I was so scared when I read that headline that it made me change colors, sucking all the happiness from my putty. I went from green and happy to blue and scared in a matter of seconds.
Rather than wallowing in my fear and crawling back into my tin to hide and wait for the next evolution of humans to walk the earth I did what any good Putty Peep would do, I did a quick check to make sure the information was correct, I did not want fake news and most certainly did not want propaganda. Of course all good red-blooded folks will say it is because North Korea launched two missiles over Japan and conducted another nuclear test, defying sanctions put in place by the U.N., we had the right. We had to do something right? The bombing run was a show of force, a show of strength, a show of resolve in this nuclear game of chicken. We have to be strong, flex our muscles, put it out there for everyone to measure. We had to be the bully of the world.
Oh how I miss you 44. Obama would still have me sitting pretty in the color green, lush and cozy. Why? Because he used his words that why. And not just 144 characters at a time at 2:00 a.m. No, he used words that could condemn and caution without belittling and taunting. He did not lay out foreign policy on social media and then seek support for his promises. He built coalitions and consensus, even with those who despised him. This is not the case today. Nope today Russia and China are saying “slow down there cowboy, let’s see if that dog will hunt before we shoot our wad.”
There are times I wish I could crawl back into the primordial ooze from which I sprang. I would melt back in with all the other Putty Peeps, happy to be part of the whole and grateful I was not alone. Other times I am proud of my independence and cherish my freedom of expression. I wonder what will happen the next time the two bullies get closer to the middle of the kickball field. Who will flinch and draw first blood? Of course in this scenario I wonder who will flinch first and launch without another word.
Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest one of all? It is justice, she is the fairest of the all. She stands blind and balanced seeking only truth. Mirror, mirror on the wall will justice prevail at all? She is wise and powerful but will succumb to the will of a few if the many do nothing at all.