Black Pot and the Kettle

The game of International Politics is not that different from a Saturday night gathering for a friendly game of Poker, except the stakes are higher because the players are not always as clever or friendly.

Georgian soldiers: smh.com.au

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - The war between Georgia and Russia was so precipitous as to take the world by surprise. As best I can determine, it began when Georgia attempted to recover by force the autonomous territory within its boundaries known as South Ossetia that has familiar ties to Russia and vice versa.

A Russian Peace-keeping force was stationed in Ossetia, after the separation a decade or more ago, to protect against what has now happened.

Georgia became independent following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and its American-educated president [elected in 2004] favors the West and wants to become a member of NATO to which Russia objects.

Adding to the tension between the U. S. and Russia was the failure of Geo. W. Bush to confer with Putin before deciding to place anti-ballistic missile sites in western Europe.

His failure created a doubt that can easily be recognized by Russia’s reaction to Georgia’s attempt [by force] to bring Ossetia back into its fold. It has become a game of cat and mouse with international implications

Instead of regaining its autonomous territory, Georgia is likely to lose its own independence and its connection with the West. Geo. W. Bush and John McCain have already condemned Russia for its “disproportionate” response to an invasion of a disputed homeland of a people that prefers Russian rule to that of the West.

In light of Bush’s War in Iraq, and his reluctance to withdraw, is not the pot calling the kettle black? The U.S. would be well advised to back off and let the United Nations handle this conflict so similar to the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crises [in reverse].

The game of International Politics is not that different from a Saturday night gathering for a friendly game of Poker, except the stakes are higher because the players are not always as clever or friendly. Those who are ” know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold them” rather than suffer a loss that can ruin a good thing..

Since life ought to be a game, it makes sense to know what you are doing and play accordingly; those who do will not increase the ante when the outcome is in doubt, or borrow excessively from future generations by playing “blind man’s bluff,” or push the envelope in the hope of a miracle, or the false belief that God is on their side.

Consider the words of Giordano Bruno who was burned at the stake in the year 1700 at an auto-da-fe [act of faith] for believing other than what the Church taught.

I see clearly that we are all born ignorant and willing to acknowledge our ignorance; then as we grow, we are brought up in the disciplines and habits of our house, and we hear disapproval of the laws, rites, faith and manners of our adversaries and of those who are different from ourselves, while they hear the same about us and our affairs.

Thus, just as there are planted in us by the natural forces of breeding the roots of zeal for our own ways, so in others an enthusiasm for their own different customs are instilled.

Thence it easily becomes axiomatic that we should esteem the oppression and slaughter of the enemies of our faith as a pleasing sacrifice to the gods; as they do also, when they have done the like by us.

And they render thanks to God for having vouchsafed to them the light which leads to eternal life with no less fervor and conviction than we feel in rejoicing that our hearts are not blind and dark as theirs are.

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Kenneth G. Ramey was a 79-year old "writer without a Website" who is generating excellent, provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: kennethramey@yahoo.com