MILNET Opinion
  Being Scared is Okay, 3/1/2005
"Why is our government acting like children, and why don't we ever hear about these things you talk about on your web site...the world is truly a confusing and scary place."

- Random questions and statements, Placerville, CA., 2/2005

I've been surprised so many times since 9/11 you'd think I'd be used to it by now.  However, I'm not.  In fact, I've been asked by lots of people, almost immediately upon their learning about MILNET, questions that indicate your average "American on the Street" is scared and confused. 

Now you have to realize I don't mean shivering and hiding in their closet scared.  More like worried.  A lot.  And not wandering around and can't find their way home confused. More like unable to parse what they hear from fact or fiction.

Media Influence

Opinions and fact merge in our media intensive world, and the American People are starved for more information. Not because they are naive or easily swayed.  The opposite is true.  The American People are capable of rationale thought.  Despite a dismal education system that is swaying on the brink of being a socialist, anti-American propaganda machine, and a media base in print and television that serves the liberal-socialist agenda at every opportunity worldwide and near every election, the American People are capable, still, of figuring it out. All they need is good factual information.  And they need to know what is opinion versus fact. 

That's why MILNET does our best to point out when we are speculating...like using the word -- imagine that?  Or we actually put Opinion at the top of an article.  Not like Newspaper Op Od and Editorial pages. They use the word Editor like it means "Person Who Only States Facts."  Funny how many so called institutions of higher learning forget to teach that concept today.

Opinions are Important

Opinions are important.  The phrase "Learned Opinion" comes from expertise. A P.H.D. in a field has usually undergone a course of rigorous study that includes a complete grounding in the basics of the subject matter (a Bachelor's Degree for instance is supposed to mean the recipient has that basic grounding).  This does not mean you automatically become an expert when you get a piece of paper saying you have a PHD.  Years of research or better yet practical experience must also apply, even for the pseudo expert with the PHD.  Note too that many people are experts, truly. Working in a technical field for several decades is likely to make one an expert. 

The Master's Degree means that the student has also been exposed to a general swath of the advanced specialties one might consider when thinking of becoming an expert. To demonstrate that advanced training, the Master's applicant is encouraged to create a thesis and stand before an oral's board to defend that thesis.  That does not necessarily mean the student at that point has chosen his specific field of expertise, not any more than a PHD thesis and oral argument does.

Take for instance U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Condeleezza Rice.  She is known as a Soviet Union expert. She accumulated practical experience in government as well as that PHD.   Some nutcases in this country have even gone as far as to use that fact to say she has no other useful expertise now that the Soviet Union has done gone away.  With her first term as the National Security Advisor, it is pretty clear to any with a teaspoon of brain power that she learned a lot about a lot of things.  For instance, if there is anyone who is expert in dealing with huge national security issues that effect our country, it would be Condy Rice.  It is more rationale to speak of Condy Rice as a National Security expert at this juncture. When she completes her tour of duty as Secretary of State, it would also be quite reasonable to assume she is pretty much an expert at International Diplomacy.

Why Go After Condy?

And one of the concerns I have been asked about countless times, is why the left went after Condy Rice, and indeed others in the Bush Administration with such fervor.  Americans understand politics in the general sense.  And the attacks appeared to the average American on the street, to be both frightening and confusing.

Why?  I have an opinion.  Their concern comes not only because the attacks seemed so far beyond the usual political rabble rousing of a party out of office.  Well beyond.  And that is frightening.  It implies that the party system is in trouble. And again, it's my opinion that the entire American people see that as frightening.  We have based our nation on a Republic - that special form of democracy that depends on an electoral college and the multi-party system. We sometimes forget that every election has a host of "spoilers" in the race but our two parties tend to overwhelm the others.  And yet, there is a nearly 50-50 split.  That split tends to fracture alliances and agreements.  It makes negotiation difficult because no one large block of votes remain large enough. In other words, it is hard to negotiate when you have little to offer.

So why did the Dems go after Condy?  The answer is politics of course, but a different sort that some might be used to. I firmly believe in my heart of hearts that the Dems and their socialist friends in Europe wish to destroy American political power worldwide.  The Dems, of course wish to replace it with their own cockeyed brand of weak-kneed socialist structure that the Europeans like -- it doesn't confront bad people or evil in the world and Isolates America.  The Socialists in Europe simply loved Bill Clinton. 

Condy Rice is quickly becoming both expert in National Security and International Diplomacy.  She is technically minded, holds that PHD, and frankly is a bright, intellectually stimulating Black woman who also just happens to be an electable Republican. Rather than wait for 2006 when her name will REALLY be bandied about as a candidate for even higher office, the Dems are launching their pre-emptive strikes now. They REALLY don't want Condy Rice on any ticket.  How about the first black woman Vice President, or yes, even President?  This idea has the Dems in sheer panic and they are showing their true colors.  They'll do anything to win in 2008, even if it's falsely defaming one of our nations best assets, Condeleezza Rice.

Why All This Anti-Americanism?

Another question I am asked a lot is why the media is constantly pounding on the anti-American attitudes world wide.  Most Americans don't travel outside their own state, let alone outside the country. And so they don't know whether to believe the depth and passion of anti-Americanism.  They understand stereotypes and they understand politics, again in a general terms.  And that's where the worry and confusion comes from. 

For example, many average Americans are surprised on their first visit to Europe -- they go to Paris and find out that the fact they don't speak fluent French and are easily identified as Americans means they will find snubs and a favorite French technique -- "the giving of the back."  Almost a shun.  Cool, barely polite, and only that much attention as commercial service requires. This has been around longer than Republican dominated U.S. Congress or a Republican Administration. It stems from something far more insidious and dangerous to world peace, and no, it really isn't our fault, let's stop trying to fix it!

For instance Germany in the early 50s used to be far less so nasty to Americans, but not any more. A German friend explained that to me.  Germans fear they see a right wing emergence in U.S Politics that reminds them too much of their own past. Germans too can't seem to parse the real from their media enforced socialist agenda.  The world's largest welfare state fears the world's largest conservative nation -- even if it is only a 50% conservative nation.

Yes there is anti-Americanism, but this is not because our government is doing things wrong.  To the contrary. We are doing things right.  Pay attention now, this is crucial.  Judge us by our critics.

Socialism is the Problem

Anti-Americanism, again in my opinion, comes from the fact that conservatives tend to point at socialist failures with great gusto. Therein lies the larger more insidious problem. The two systems, socialism and conservatism are mutually destructive. The Euros have swung their liberal bent further left into socialism.  Karl Marx would be so pleased.

The European Union is such an experiment.  Trade agreements are different then trade unions.  Unions we are familiar in this country.  The term collective bargaining is permanently affixed to the concepts of Unions.  And the European Union is not as much a trade alliance as it is a Trade Union.  The normalization of the financial instrument is the biggest indicator.   A common currency.  The idealist's way out when facing the deadly influences of bad economies.  When you pursue the course of the lowest common denominator, this is what you get.

Socialist don't understand the problem.  And that is part of the liberal disease.  The lowest common denominator means if you are above the watermark, you will be dragged down.  The socialist tries to convince us that this is okay, because somehow, those below the mark will be somehow pulled up.  And thus comes the failure in logic.  Socialists cling to the ideal that a better, higher average is what their practices create.  Unfortunately, and this is not just my opinion, but that of at least 50% of economists and is supported by a pretty solid mathematical model, that the lowest common dominator  is just as it sounds.  Lowest.  Not average.

In the end, the European Union's semi-adequate trade policies will fight its monetary policies and create a slow reacting, average seeking economy for all of its members.  At certain peaks it will challenge other economic powers.  However, the average it will be seeking will be driven by its lowest economies.  Germany for instance, with its dismal growth, will not be helped by adding Turkey or perhaps, as some have suggested, adding the emerging eastern European nations.

What Europe needs to do is start focusing on helping its collective class of workers to contribute rather than collect. Instead of leveling out the incomes of their workers, they will need to inspire growth and prosperity, not the doldrums found near the lowest common denominator.

What has that to do with anti-Americanism?  Directly, it has little to do with it.  However, because the Socialist agenda focuses on giving excuses for non contribution, removing that agenda also means less focus on programs that reward non contribution.  If you remove the socialist agenda from the economic and political future of Europe, things will change.

Victim Based Politics

Victims based politics is a non-starter.  It presumes there are victims everywhere, and thus creates them out of thin air.  You shot yourself in the foot?  Oh hell, you are a victim of the radical right wing gun lobby.  You can't find a job?  Well, obviously you must have been victimized by the horrible globalization of rabid right wing capitalists.  See how it works?  Women's groups have used the victim card far too often, which is a pity because like any case where there are truly victims, crying wolf too often creates a backlash that cannot be overcome.  Women have been denied equal pay. Horrible.  Fix that by demanding legislation that fixes pay inequities.  Create qualifications for jobs and pay for those qualified.  At the top will be performers.  Few companies can afford to shut out top performers regardless of gender. The ceiling for female top performers is no different than males.  The science in statistics can be misused and this is an excellent case. There is no victim here. 

Single mothers are not victims in the main.  Neither are single fathers, the smaller minority that gets far less attention.  There are few if any single father programs.  So called "single parent" programs simply ignore the single father.  When's the last time you heard of a single father outreach program?  Single fathers aren't victims either and most people somehow understand that. But since liberal politics and their programs tend to be victims based, single father programs and many other non victim programs get short changed or ignored all together.

What happens when you refuse to play the victims game?  The voices of supposed victims quiet down somewhat, and the cries for real, useful help from people really in trouble can be heard. An entrepreneur will no longer have to fight for a leg up in business, vying for funds that the willing indigent and whiners are eating up. A retraining program for those in need feeds far more and for longer than the dole.  How about long term employees that find themselves laid off or unable to keep up with younger, better educated or perhaps more willing to work long hours uncompensated? These are hidden non victims that need help.  Currently they aren't counted, let alone offered help.

These can be females (not a minority, thank you), blacks, greens, or purples.  Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews or Pentecostals.  It doesn't matter, because without victims, the playing field is leveled automatically, and without favoring one group or another.  Multiple decades of "victim compensation" oriented social engineering have only proven that that concept doesn't work.

Education is the Answer But No One Really Cares

The structurally unemployable will suddenly find funds available to really help -- to help them train and gain knowledge that helps them with a career and self support. To help them contribute to their society.   If the socialist angst is focused on funding bootstrap programs instead of welfare states, structural unemployment will exist only for those who are truly helpless due to disabilities -- physical or mental.  Those who really need help. Not the lazy nor the demoralized habitual welfare recipient. 

A budding expert will find grants and aid, not to supplement sitting at home, but going back to school to learn more about his or her chosen trade, or make a move in an adjacent or even some other dream career.  Loans for those who have lost work is the most ludicrous aid program ever conceived. The first thing the unemployed finds is their credit shot to hell.  Adding another loan to that load is destructive, not helpful.  Forcing them to sell their autos and other possessions is also pretty stupid.  Making contributors indigent and unable to travel to a new job or retraining is also pretty illogical and destructive. Yet some states penalize the unemployed for having an automobile that could be sold to put food on the table. 

Contributions are welcome.  Both from aid programs and those who receive them.  Ask an unemployed person if they want a job.  If they were working recently, only a handful will be willing to take an unpaid vacation.  Ask them two or three years down the road.  If they have survived this long without work, you will find a vast majority fall in two classes. They have worked the system and don't care if they work or not, or those who are desperate to get back on their feet somehow.  The answer is education or  a burgeoning job market.  Without either, the hopes for change are dismal.

Programs helping anyone who wishes to contribute should be the vogue, not the continued decimating anti-democratic dole.  Experienced workers, especially those with supervision skills should not be jobless.  Yet this is the case with middle aged unemployed.  If there is a serious problem in American Industry this is it.  Lack of experienced and knowledgeable  workers leads to brainwashed workers who go along with poor financial and business practices.  The unwashed unethical cannot exist where knowledge and morality live.  What does that tell you about Corporate America?

Thus the education system is the starting point to fix things. How many colleges actively seek to help would be students go to college in any large number?  The current college system in the U.S. remains the avenue for the wealthy.  Propaganda to the contrary is insidious as well.  Drop out rates in high schools throughout the U.S. is at an all time high, yet the figures are masked by clever "continuation" programs that first remove the student from the general high school student body before the student drops out. No one pays any attention to continuation programs. Student loans are fine for high school graduates, but assume a job out of college.  That does not always happen. And what about those on their second, third, or even fourth career in this upside down economy? Student loans are not only impracticable but destructive.  And none of this helps the truly indigent get training they need.  Full scholarships with real dollars attached are the only solution, but our society refuses to afford that kind of aid. No way. 

How Does All This Fix the Europeans?

Europe faces similar problems.  High welfare and only 35 hour workdays contribute to lower productivity for the entire population of countries in Europe.  Instead of focusing on real time-off policies that adjust to the needs of parents or those with illness, the Euros take vacation time.  Many companies give up to 60 days per year for vacation time.  That is ludicrous.  Their stress levels are reduced for 60 days, but then their jobs are drying up and their company profits are killing business at prodigious rates.  Soon they will be unemployed earning unpaid vacations. Wonderful plan.

The change for the Euros is to realize their Socialist agenda is killing them.  Reform their policies and you'll reform their economies.

Once European's  average citizen can feel comfortable with their entire nation contributing at high levels in a high economy, then the EU model might be seen for what it is, a dragging influence that prevents free market growth. 

And perhaps, just perhaps, they will be a little more willing to break out of their isolation and start helping the rest of the world achieve an active, positively directed growth, in a contributing democratic ideal, instead of the "one size fits all" notion that the Soviet Union proved doesn't work.

And then maybe, just maybe, the Europeans will not see America's enthusiasm for creating new democracies as a threat to their governments which are heading in the opposite direction.  And perhaps the European people will begin to understand that building democracies is far from the rabid right their leaders paint all Americans with their broad brush.

A less isolated Europe will spend less time debating and more time doing. Getting out in the world and pushing on the nations who challenge world peace rather than pandering to them as if they have an excuse.  Syria, Iran, and North Korea could not exist long if the Europeans collectively took action.  Instead, they find excuse after excuse to allow their existence to continue.  And when America gets fed up and intervenes, taking on the crisis, the Euros cry foul and want to put their ineffective hands into the mess all of a sudden. Why?  Because we take action and they are both shamed and frightened by it.  It is time to stop feeling sorry for being the good guys in this world.

Is There Hope?

What makes this opinion so compelling to some is that the signs are already beginning to appear.  For example, as the U.S. and Eastern Europeans react strongly to changes in the wrong direction for Russian democracy, the Western Europeans don't seem to mind so much. Fortunately, Britain's Labour Party has got a clue, Tony Blair pointing out to his citizenry that welfare is not the same as put back to work.  He also likes to use the word contribute.  Not bad for the opposition to Britain's conservative party.  We wonder how he will do in the next elections.

All of this European angst is confusing unless of course you are a little more cognizant of European history. The Europeans have been in the middle of two major wars in modern time, and dozens before that. In fact, the Europeans have been at war with someone for almost all of their existence. And they have dragged the rest of the world into their wars as well.   They have swung from hostile monarchies to right wing fanaticism and now deeply into socialist territory.  

Arrogant and prejudiced British rule of Africa and the Middle East, and yes even the Americas, have led to vast changes in our world.  Today the British are as schizophrenic as Americans, having difficulty understanding how to apply their democratic principles.  Yet there is hope.  In the U.K., we have a liberal government that is not afraid to approach a typical conservative party concept when that principle makes sense.  Tony Blair's support of helping each and every British citizen to contribute is electrifying.  Could that ideal spread throughout Europe?  Hopefully.  In the U.K, you also have have a labor based government that understands that a century of colonization and arrogant rule created  many of the problems in the Middle East.  That same government now understands that Islamic extremism has more to do with killing Jews and their friends than any of the false justifications used in Islamic propaganda, including victim politics with a pointing finger at a long vanished colonialism.

What are the Hopes for Israel?

Speaking of Israel, I get lot's of questions about their plight.  I am happy to relay the facts.  Israel's great sin is its very existence. We have forgotten that in World War II, Jews lived in Europe and Russia and they were killed in wholesale lots.  Believing that a Palestinian State will somehow stop the hatred is simply wishful thinking.  Especially when that state is within mortar and rocket range of Jews. It is woefully illogical and again so idealistic that it is beyond belief. 

Never mind that the Arab Palestinians are playing right into the hands of the hard-liners in Israel. The Palestinian State will eventually provide the excuse to once again expand the Israeli borders all the way and perhaps into Lebanon and Syria, and quite possibly right back to the pervious Israeli created Jordan border.  The Arab nations will not like that very much and tensions in the region will return to those frightening days just before the Yom Kippur War.

Terrorism and Our Future

Naturally, people in America are still quite sensitive to Terrorism and our homeland security.  Many people want to help, but don't know how. I have heard disgusted hard working Americans describe their frustration.  And our government still doesn't get it. I include local governments too. They are afraid to ask for help and indeed do not value the common citizen.  There are few if any homeland security outreach programs in rural areas.

There are vast numbers of willing volunteers who can contribute. It does not take a PHD in physics or chemistry to create a willing volunteer first responder workforce. Nor does it take huge funds. Volunteers will create the worksheets and lessons to train.  Certification requires only a train the trainer cert course funded by any small town's election cycle.  And suddenly, you have real Americans preparing for that event we know is coming.

The current course we are taking in this country is shameful. Cops and firemen don't trust the local citizens, and yet they are the front lines of first responders. Understanding the problem here can help. Police and fireman see the worst sides of people..  A badge means they have been sworn to duty, and yes, we all hope they have been through special training and psychological screening. 

None of which is unique or not applicable to the so called common citizen.  Sure, we don't want felons to carry guns, and it might not be a good idea to have drug addicts acting as the people who perform triage or assess toxins in a WMD attack. 

Public service first responders tend to see the worst of humans and thus cannot distinguish the good from the bad, they have been fooled so often by appearances.  This mindset prevents public service leaders, who have the training and trainers, those assests necessary and in place to teach John Q. Public how to help.  A well advertised public training session on WMD counter measures or first responder techniques, especially one that leads to certification, would surprise the hell out of public service leaders throughout the country.  Never heard of one happening -- and I am sensitive to this issue.  I'd volunteer to watch the permiter of local schools -- no one ever asked and I'm afraid to volunteer cuz someone will take one look at my beard and make some nasty judgment.  I'd make a good first responder too -- I'm certified at CPR, know martial arts and have saved lifes in the past with well delivered first aid.  Why hasn't some first responder outreach program snatched me up?  Because there is no such thing. 

Another difficulty with our Homeland Security efforts is arrogant security.  Local law enforcement folks envision a world where only they have a proper sense of security, only they can be sworn to duty.  Yet many Americans would be ideal sworn first responders and might even take security more seriously then their public service colleagues.  Not every American is willing to allow others to defend them while they remain helpless.  Within every community there is a core group of self motivated, highly intelligent volunteers who will not inform terrorists of information needs to remain secure.  It is this arrogance that will cost us in the end.  Worse, the federal government doesn't trust local law enforcement.  Time and time again, the locals are the last to hear, and Police and Firemen complain about local government arrogance.

Of course there is another problem.  This nation cannot, has never been able, to conduct adequate background checks on those who need to know secrets, and those who decide who should know use that as a weapon in advancement and career politics.  Thus it is no wonder that a mere citizen cannot be in on the plans or real details of terror alerts.  The bureaucratic solution is a constant "Elevated" alert punctuated with the occasional jump accompanied by useless information for the average citizen to use. 

Don't get me wrong.  Good improvements have been made. But for the world's most wealthy and technically capable nation, what we've done is far from what we SHOULD be doing.  And leaving out the "street American" is both stupid and wasteful.

WMD Attacks Are In Our Future

The next major attack will most likely be a WMD attack that will change things once again.  For a short time in our future history, that attack will shut the wishful thinkers up while the rest lash out to swing the pendulum back. Our local law enforcement and other first responders, in their arrogance, will kill thousands because they left the public uninformed and untrained. Contrast the average American citizen's knowledge of NBC procedures and processes to that of the average Israeli.  It's like elementary school kids versus graduate degree students (U.S. compared to Israel).

Yes, we are lucky in that we do not face daily death dealt by factions in the world happy to kill us right on our own streets.  That does not make the excuses any less palatable nor does it excuse the arrogance of our local leadership.

The danger of a WMD attack is not a new concept.  The clock didn't start ticking on 9/11. Terrorists and WMD has been on the table for several decades already. The average citizen only began to understand when there were weaponized Anthrax attacks in our Capital.   Some have already forgotten people died from those attacks.  Just because the numbers weren't in the thousands does not mean the attacks were not successful. To the contrary, THE U.S. HAS BEEN ATTACKED WITH WMD ALREADY! 

Don't forget that the size of the Oklahoma City bomb was not small potatoes either.  A large enough fertilizer bomb is a WMD, if not as scary (but pretty damned deadly) as nuke or a small pox epidemic.  And of course airliners full of fuel were huge manned missiles that DID kill thousands.  How massive does a weapon of mass destruction have to be to get Amerca's attention?  And isn't it logical that all weapons in the arsenal will be used.  Most housewives know not to mix certain cleaning products because they'll produce a deadly gas.  Duh, anyone can build WMD materials, and the next step to dispersal is not at all difficult. So guess what?  A WMD is in our future.  Let's prepare for it.

Summary

It's okay to be scared.  Scared is a natural result of threat. And yes, the world is a scary place. Deal with it.  Don't run from it.  Learn more about threats, how to spot them, how to fight them. Learn how to take care of your own family in the event you are exposed to those threats.  And perhaps also as important, learn how to distinguish between anti-Americanism and socialist propaganda.  For the most dangerous weapon in the terrorist's arsenal is the minds and hearts of people living on this planet.  If we continue to pander to the terrorist propaganda machines and their liberal excusers in the mainstream media, we kill more and more of those out there fighting the war between civilizations.  The war between us and the denizens of 7th century ideals. And eventually, we'll find the terrorists on our own streets once again, hiding within the shadows of our own ignorance, liberal wishful thinking and lackof vigilance.  There's that word again, vigilance. As if it were dirty, some decry its use.  There is a vast difference between vigilance and vigilante.  There is a vast difference between keeping a learned eye out for dangers and succumbing to prejudice. I believe the American public is capable of vigilance without becoming rabid vigilantes.


Further Reading:

  1. U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condeleezza Rice, The White House
  2. Jane's Chemio Handbook, Amazon Books
  3. Chemical/Biological/Radiological Incident Handbook, Central Intelligence Agency, October 1998
  4. Treating with Technology, CNN Article found at Center for Emergency Response Technology, 4/2/2003
  5. Outreach Programs, Center for Emerency Response Technology
  6. Selecting and Stocking Antidotes to Poisons, (PDF 750KB), Blaine Jess Benson and Patrick McKinny, New Mexico Poison Center, 10/28/2004
  7. First Responder Chembio Handbook (overview, TOC, order), Tempest Publishing, Alexandria Virginia.
  8. Internet References for Chembio terrorisim, treatment, detection, etc., University of Pittsburgh, undated
  9. Chemical Biological Attacks, What are they, How to Prepare, What to do During, Middle Tennesee State University, undated
  10. Biological Terror training, The Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
  11. Preparedness and Response, The Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia !!! Excellent Resouce !!!



© Copyright 2005, Michael G. Crawford, for MILNET