Back in the day there was a program, originally on NBC,
called “Wild Kingdom”. Hosted by zoologist Marlin
Perkins, the program featured tales from the wild as a means of
introducing urbanites to the ecology of the planet. Normally, it
would feature a particular species as a 'family' would wind it's way
through the seasons, usually ending with a mating scene. Perkins
would always save the best for last as a means of keeping the old man
glued to the screen long enough for the rest of the family to enjoy
the program.
Anyway, I recall a particular episode, sometime in the
late 60's, in which Perkins was featuring the life of lions,
observing from a distance the behaviors of a lioness and her cubs, as
she gave birth, nurtured, and then instructed the young miscreants on
the ways of the world; necessary lessons in survival. As the program
droned on, waiting for the inevitable mating scene—which was as
close to real copulation as one could see on television in those
days—Perkins, while observing the playful behavior of the cubs as
the lioness took them down to the river to drink quipped “and she
will tolerate no nonsense at the waterfront.” Words that have
stuck with me for half a century. No nonsense at the waterfront.
In the aftermath of the great wars of the last century
it was the position of both political parties that, following the
wisdom of the jungle, “debate ended at the waterfront”. This
meant that whatever the differences between the political parties,
partisanship did not extend to foreign policy. We might quibble
within the house, but we would present a united stand to the world.
It was during these times that we forged our great alliances
providing an umbrella for the rebuilding of war-torn Europe and
Japan, as well as aiding nations emerging from the yoke of colonial
domination. The world knew who we are and where we stood. America
was as good as it's word.
All this began to unravel in the wake of Viet Nam and
Watergate. The war split the nation into warring factions and ever
since the country has not been able to go forth with anything like
the national unity that it presented to the world decades earlier.
But it is one thing to honestly debate what many rightly
saw as a colossal national futility inviting national humiliation; it
is quite another to use foreign policy for real or imagined partisan
advantage. It is the stature of the United States that has been the
bedrock of global hope and aspiration; But nonsense at the waterfront
is rapidly eroding our standing in the world.
In 2015 John Boner, then Republican Speaker of the
House, invited Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington to speak before a
joint session of Congress. (1) Usurping President Obama's role as
Head of State, the Speaker did this in order to shore up
domestic political support without consulting either the State
Department or the White House. At about the same time, nearly
two-score Republican senators sent a letter to the leadership in Iran
warning Tehran that any agreements reached with the Obama
administration would not survive his presidency. Then, sure enough,
the Scum made good on the pledge withdrawing from the nuclear
agreements a few months after Caesar Disgustus seized power.
And he seized power by criminally conspiring with
hostile foreign nationals in a conspiracy against his own country for
crass personal and partisan reasons. Treacherously he not only
seized power but has used the office to not only service the
interests of Putin's regime but to further divide the country in part
by throwing all policy—foreign and domestic—into a
heated partisan cauldron. Everything is now seen through a
partisan lens—right down to reporting itself. And, since our
intrepid Caesar conflates all interests with his own, the Rescumlican
party is being further dragged down the rabbit hole that is tRUMP in
wonderland.
Not only does this nation no longer present a united
front to the world but, by lacking consistency, we have undermined
our integrity.
It has been observed in these columns that Disgustus
projects onto others his own shortcomings. When he says the system
is 'rigged' he means that he has rigged it; when he calls his
opponent 'crooked', he means that he himself has disjointed limbs;
when he told the country that the whole world was laughing at Obama
he means that soon the whole world will be laughing at him.
And so it was at the United Nations when, at his
appearance before the body, the general assembly broke out in riotous
laughter when Disgustus stood before the world and claimed that he
was the 'greatest' of them all.
But the world has stopped laughing. With the western
alliances in tatters, vice president Pence was found last week in
Munich at a security conference. Referring to Senator Lindsay Graham
and other dignitaries, the body returned tepid applause. When he
brought greetings from the 'greatest' of them all Donald J. tRUMP,
the vice president was greeted with a studied stone silence. A
silence betraying a deep underlying contempt. This was further
demonstrated when outgoing German Chancellor Merkle savaged tRUMP and
his administration in a video presentation to great applause while
tRUMP larvae Ivanka sat silent in the room.
And now, after consulting not his diplomats or security
chiefs but Vladimir Putin on negotiations with North Korea, he is off
to Vietnam to meet Kim Jung-Un in a desperate attempt to distract
from testimony his personal attorney is about to give before Congress
and the nation.
Reagan told us about 'the bear in the woods'; the
Republicans famously see the world as a jungle. But, apparently, they
missed that episode about the lions.
We all know what happens when you play with fire, when
there is nonsense at the waterfront: dinner is served.
“An Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh”
Impeach and Imprison.
__________________
- See previous post: March 11, 2015: Generation of Swine, Mendacity of the Swine, Deeply
Offensive Performances.
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