I'm gonna kick your ass, man!

In 1870, the Prussian King Wilhelm I met, with great courtesy, the French ambassador at Ems. This ambassador then sent off a telegram (the infamous telegram from Ems) to Paris. An ambitious Prussian politician by the name of Otto von Bismarck intercepted the telegram and had it reworded to sound more arrogant; to make it truly offensive. And then, he had the telegram published in Prussian newspapers so everyone could see how the Prussians had disrespected the French.

Upon hitting the streets in Parisian papers, it was gobbled up and the brave Parisians were outraged at what they thought was a very arrogant Prussian attitude. Knowing Germans as well as I do, I don’t doubt that the letter was spiced with that very typically German “I am better than thou, you foreign monkey,” (it was precisely this inherent disdain for everything foreign which permitted them with such apparent glee to slaughter 50 million foreigners during the WWII) and so the Parisians were probably right in being upset.

The outrage, however, was not worth going to war over. Prussia had tried to bribe the Spanish Parliament into choosing Prince Leopold von Hohenzollern to become the next King of Spain. The French didn’t like this idea.

In those days, however, when smoke signals tended to get confused with puffing locomotives and pigeons with messages of peaces tended to lose their way, a “your momma”, “uh-uh, your momma” contest kicked off. Mobilization in those days was a thing that once launched was difficult to stop.

War was inevitable. War happened and once again, the Germans kicked French ass.

Disgruntled by this loss, the next generation of French and their leaders happily sought an entry into another war with Germany. When that young Serb assassinated an archduke who nobody really missed, the gloves were off and WWI occurred. Then, after the horrific reparations brought down upon Germany at Versailles by the bitter French and the petty and trite English, WWII was just a matter of time.

I’ll Kick Your Ass, Man

When W. and Mr. Potter (Cheney) started the name-calling, recall “axis of evil” (Iraq, Iran and North Korea), all of the lessons learned over the last century were, in oh-so-Republican fashion, disregarded and once again, the Republicans showed the world that they know better than the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, Hoover, FDR, Churchill, Truman, LBJ, Gandhi, etc.

What was accomplished with this spate of name-calling? 10 years ago, North Korea wasn’t anywhere near capable of testing nuclear missiles but today, they are doing it on a regular basis. Iran was isolated and suffering and near economic collapse. Iraq was Iraq and some 250,000 Iraqis were still alive and well, not to mention over 4000 American men and women who were living their lives quietly with their families.

In the time that we became the big, dumb and somewhat emotional bully, China has not only challenged our economic hegemony but it is now we who are seeking to stem the tide of their lead; Russia has regained significant regional power and even has the energy power to force Europe to turn a blind-eye to their human right’s abuses; Chavez mocks us; North Korea knows we are overstretched in our Iraqi and Afghani quagmires so they too act as they see fit.

Mexico is on the brink of becoming a failed state thanks to our insatiable hunger for drugs and our failure to understand that US-made weapons are only exasperating the situation. And, whilst we were becoming a less relevant and a weaker nation outside of our boarders, internally, we were abandoning the working class Americans. We were selling our future greatness so that already really-really-really rich people could enjoy ever more fruits at the ever-increasing labors of the working poor in America.

Dialogue

When President Obama opened up dialogue with Iran and even Al Qaeda, he was paying honor and respect to the statesmen of the last 100 years. When he shook the hand of the President Chavez, he was demonstrating to the world that sticks and stones may hurt but names are just words that can always be called back and forgotten.

Each time President Obama seeks dialogue as opposed to war and what now is obvious to the world, empty threats about how we will invade here or attack there, he is paying respect to the men and women who have “made the ultimate sacrifice.”

He is saying: “Your death was not in vain. We will resolve this ‘conflict’ and we will prevent others from losing what you have, my friend, the one life that was granted to you by a God who is all forgiving and who couldn’t be upset by mere name-calling.”

And, when we resolve our differences with Iran and Venezuela and North Korea, boys and girls in America will not have to look to a folded-flag for words of wisdom from a dearly, departed mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, friend…And, we will be made ever safer.