On the Brink

 As I reflect back to my college days, I think about a statement I made that turned heads in class.  Some looked in disgust while others were deeply impressed by this simple but bold message.   “There are two soldiers in this world, one who fights because he’s told to, and one who fights because he believes in a cause.”  In such trying times, one succumbs to logical emotion over the nature and status of the world that be.  Why do we fight, why do we feel the need to meddle in others business, is there just cause for action, are there ulterior motives involved, is there an end in sight?  As I sit up on this March night, the room lay silent as I reflect on such things.  

I think back to my conversation with a friend who is three times my senior and our phone conversation on my way home from a day trip yesterday.  The first thing she said to me was, “Sean, I just hope it ends soon.”  You see she has a vested interest in the matter.  She has friends in Iran, for she and her husband lived there in the 1970’s as her husband was an engineer for DuPont.  Although our conversation branched off to many things, I made sure to ask many questions about her unique experience, and listen with the intention to remember.  She and her husband had to flee once the shah was overthrown, but she said it was the greatest experience of her life.  As time progresses to now, we talked about the state of Iran today.  We discussed the Revolutionary Guard, the elite set of soldiers, a group that lives to support the government and carry out their wishes of harm.  She talked about the idea of a nuclear capable Iran.  The uranium enrichment program must be halted to stop Iran from producing a bomb that could and inevitably would be used against the United States and Israel.  She prayed for the lives of the U.S., Israeli, and Iranian people and soldiers who are put in harm's way.  

We talked about Donald Trump.  He’s a strong leader when it comes to war, but he is supposed to be a president of peace.  Is the United States ready for war?  Do we have the munitions to fight a war against a country many times the size of Iraq with nearly 4 times the people?  Although the intellectuals and rich wish to see a regime change, will the Revolutionary Guard allow for a democratically elected leader if and when said regime is overthrown?  Will we be seen as a savior of sorts, or will it just lead to more hatred and animosity towards the United States and Israel?  Is Trump a puppet to Netanyahu, is he a slave to his own personal wealth and that of U.S. oil corporations?  Is it smoke and mirrors?  Did Trump see his own personal image become compromised by the Epstein files and failed political policies that he believed he needed to juxtapose the narrative and shift the popular news media to a war that is not favorable to the masses?

As we move this story forward, one cannot forget the rising power and influence of the People’s Republic of China.  China seeks diplomacy, but what happens when they send troops and war ships to the region on their own accord?  The ratio of Chinamen to American soldiers is 8-to-1.  Fear of the future runs rampant in my mind over such questions.  The people of China are smart, clever individuals, capable of making strategic war efforts on their own. 

The burning question that crosses my mind is this: are we on the brink of World War III?  The world is in such a fragile state, will the powers that be use logic and reason to end conflict or will bombs and blood be fired and shed to bring about change in this world.  What is there to gain from such measures, for there is six degrees of separation between corporate autocracy and the personal interest of Trump?  Will this shift from domestic problems to foreign intervention lead to more turmoil?  We lock men, women, and children in cages for illegally living in the United States and beat, arrest, and in some small cases murder those who protest against it, yet we want to help overthrow a sovereign nation who is doing the same thing to their people.  The hypocrisy is appalling, yet I digress.  The important message I want to leave one with is this: is there a means to an end?  Will it unravel into all out war for we sit on the brink of total war? What will happen if China and Russia get involved?  Are we safe at home?  Although Trump is a democratically elected president, do we continue to let men make decisions that don’t fall in line with the promises he made prior to office?  Where is Congress with a War Powers Resolution?  Why doesn’t anyone in power stand up to this man?  Is this war justified to world peace as a means to an end?  Do we want to control Iranian oil just like we did in Venezuela?