Aleppo
One of the presidential candidates was criticized because he didn’t know what Aleppo was. People were quick to make remarks like, “He’s so ignorant he didn’t even know what Aleppo was.”
Let’s consider that the man was for two terms a very successful governor of the state of New Mexico. In addition, he’s a self-made millionaire. Are you a self-made millionaire? Am I? So how ignorant is he?
Nobody knows everything. Nobody can. Talk to an extremely intelligent, accomplished computer expert. If the subject is politics, he might be quite a bit less accomplished.
I don’t agree with everything coming from the Libertarian Party. Far from it. But I’ve heard some comments from them that would place them head and shoulders above countless high-ranking people from inside the Beltway of Washington, D.C.
Comments like, “Let’s worry about fixing up Detroit before we start worrying about Aleppo.”
Where to begin
The 2016 election has left such confusion in its wake that in commenting on it, one is immediately confronted with the question of where to even begin. The confusion generated does nothing to relax anyone. To start with, we have, as one always has, the people who divide opinions into only two groups, the two groups being Mine and Wrong.
This doesn’t leave much room to maneuver. It isn’t meant to. And once one recognizes that most progress in the world is attained through sensible compromise, we begin to realize the tough shape we’re in.
The fact that one has not the faintest idea what a leader is actually thinking does nothing to relax people.
On Thanksgiving Day, famous as the day on which we should be getting together, this moved in steps.
1. People no longer spoke to one another
2. Thanksgiving dinner with political discussion forbidden.
3. Thanksgiving dinner canceled.
4. People separated.
5. People divorced.
These are not made-up situations. These are actual. You probably already know this if you have attended one of those nice Thanksgiving dinners.
Let’s work at changing that!
REGUT
(Robert E. Regut is a graduate of West Point and a teacher with 20-plus years of experience in the teaching of foreign languages, specializing in the teaching of spoken German. He can be reached at P.O. Box 101, Nobleboro, ME, or at robertregut@gmail.com.)
