Every year has its challenges and this one is no different. On the opposite page, Jonathan Kettler writes about the start of 1949 and all the challenges faced that year. It provides a real sense of perspective.
The Sun is a community newspaper so we like to focus on local news but the decimation of local news by Big Tech has caused more focus on national and international news. It is human nature to focus on what’s there.
I am fighting ardently to find some way to restore local news. It’s fundamental to our society. We’ve lost over half the local journalists in this country. But that’s a topic for another day.
The Sun has lots of local columnists. Each is local, so that makes their columns local in that sense. Unfortunately, they overwhelmingly tend to write about national and international issues because, again, local news is a scarcity. Any column on a local or state issue gets top priority.
I try to write about local and state issues and shy away from national and international topics. There is an abundance of such commentary on the Internet.
I am making a rare exception by commenting on the Trump Venezuela action, which I like to humorously refer to as “a special military operation” borrowing a phrase coined by Vladimir Putin to describe Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the Rotary Club of North Jackson, I asked the table of eight whether they are for or against the action. Four were for. Four were against.
Those against felt like we were abandoning the high moral ground and respect for national borders and sovereignty that is fundamental to our standing as a world power. They felt this would give Russia and China and other bad actors free reign. “There are lots of bad dictators.”
Those for the action, including me, believed we had to excise the cancer before he grew. We simply can’t allow a corrupt narco state with ties to Cuba, Iran, Russia and China to grow in influence and poison the entire continent.
I view so much that happens in the world from the crucible of tyranny versus freedom. The United States is not invading a free, democratic country to install tyranny and oppression. We are doing just the opposite. There is freedom in the United States. There is no freedom in Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, China or Russia.
What do I mean by freedom and democracy? Quite simple: Can you openly criticize those in power without being thrown in jail? Can the people vote out unpopular leaders through fair and open elections?
Look at Russia’s political martyr Alexei Navalny who started a grassroots democratic movement to challenge Putin and his party. Navalny was harassed, poisoned, banished, jailed and eventually killed for his free speech and exercise of democracy.
How many thousands of innocent people have rotted and died in Cuba’s prisons over the last 50 years? The country is impoverished.
Look at the hero and martyr Jimmy Lai, dying in Hong Kong’s Stanley prison. His offense? Publishing a popular newspaper that criticized China’s illegal takeover of Hong Kong. There was no freedom of speech for Jimmy Lai once the Chinese took over Hong Kong.
The Iran Revolutionary Guard has murdered thousands of protestors and jailed even more for exercising basic individual rights that we enjoy in America.
There could be no doubt where Venezuela was headed. A quarter of its people fled this beautiful country with a mild climate and rich resources. They fled because they saw their political and economic freedom being stolen by thugs. That’s why Venezuelan refugees all over the world cheered the invasion. Most would cheer on the streets of Caracas but for fear of being gunned down by the remaining government thugs.
As for stealing the Venezuelan oil, we need to recall that Maduro and Chavez stole billions of U. S. oil refineries and infrastructure through “nationalization.” The World Bank, after an extensive trial, awarded the oil companies $8.7 billion, which Venezuela has yet to pay.
Ultimately, Trump’s action will be judged by its ultimate success or failure. If Trump is able to restore freedom, democracy and prosperity to Venezuela his action will go down in history as a monumental success. If the country devolves into endless civil war, it will be deemed a failure. I am, as always, optimistic.
I am not an "ever Trumper" nor am I a "never Trumper." I have dear friends who consider Trump a vile, evil demon. I have dear friends who think he can do no wrong.
To me, Trump’s use of the Presidency to enrich his family business is a terrible precedent for this country. Same for his lack of respect for our institutions and his unconcern for decorum. For instance, tweeting public policy in the middle of the night is no way to exercise the power of the Presidency, in my humble opinion.
But I must admit his willingness to call it as he sees it and act accordingly is refreshing in a nation that has been bogged down by stultifying bureaucracy.
I predict the Trump ascendancy will have peaked by next year. The Democrats will win the House and Trump will be a lame duck. The United States will survive and still be strong. Keep faith and praise the Lord.
