Strucknwords

Trigger Warning: In 100% of the issues we face as a species, demonstrating mastery of empathy and perspective is the answer to almost every problem.While working with kids, my number one theme and strategy, especially when it comes to reducing conflict, is reviewing and teaching the skill of empathy. Hands down, it works almost every time. When I’m with adults and friends, I do the same thing, except without the actual teaching part. I just try to model it the best I can.

Having said that, I suck at that skill when it comes to politics. I try not to be political on my blog or anywhere for that matter, simply due to:

1. Peoples’ utter stupidity on the subject

2. My stupidity on the subject

3. MY refusal and utter inability to be empathetic with others’ views on the subject

4. And/or a combination of the above

But today, my cup runneth over so I feel like I should vomit just a little, although with passion. To aid my vomit though, I’ll reference Chomsky’s words because he says it a hell of a lot better than I can.

Noam Chomsky’s article was published today via TomDispatch called “Are We on the Verge of Total Self-Destruction?”, on the same morning that the U.N. is continuing their translations of the first ever Global Arms Trades Treaty, which has been signed by 67 countries thus far. While Noam’s words are not necessarily just about arms, it aligns to the issue at hand. And that issue is self-destruction.

Of course, the “most powerful” country on the planet as well as the world’s leading arms exporter hasn’t signed it yet, according to John Kerry, because we are supposedly waiting for the translations to be completed, meaning that the six official languages of the U.N. do not all have a final copy as of yet. OK, I’ll bite on that, but if 67 countries have already signed it as is, why hasn’t the U.S.? Is it that we really need it translated into all of the languages before we can agree to it, which would be a justification for our stall? Or, is this our way of showing respect to indigenous people all over the world because, we, the most powerful country in the world, clearly respect minority groups and countries of minorities, per our very obvious historical record of such so we want to be sure that it is stated correctly in all of the languages? Really? I want to believe that is the reason why. I will toss John Kerry a bone for attempting to use the whole equality bit as our defense, but in the end, it makes our very obvious robe of hypocrisy even brighter than it already is to the world. But wait, even IF and I use the word if strongly here, we actually do sign it, it still has to get through the senate….the current one I mean.

I think we said the same thing about CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which Jimmy Carter did sign in the 80s I believe, but then it was never sent to our senate for a full vote. Thus, we are one of six countries, to this day, that hasn’t ratified it.

I won’t hold my breath.

According to Times World (I realize that Times World should not be my only reference here, but I’m sparing you with too many links), the Arms Trade Treaty “will not… infringe on the rights of American citizens, including our Second Amendment rights” to bear arms, Kerry said. Read more. Yes, of course! It’s a U.N. treaty-those are never written with that mindset.

But, what does the Secretary of State of the most powerful country and leading arms exporter really believe? By that, I mean what does the U.S. really want? Is it the interest of the U.S. to sign it or not? What would we lose by signing it? According to hundreds of things documented in our history not to mention Chomsky’s words, we have never really fought to crush the idea of nuclear warfare. In fact, we are its master manipulator. I wonder why that is…..

Whether its Kerry’s job to lobby for its ratification or not doesn’t matter because without them passing it, and I’ll bet my blog that it doesn’t, he’ll be able to cite Congress as the reason we haven’t ratified it; he’ll be able to state that the senate has prevented it from being ratified, even though for decades, since our country’s birth, we have undermined and broken relationships with other countries over and over and over on this issue. Yet, it isn’t the U.S. administration causing or doing any of this, it’s always the other country’s leaders or this or that.

In order to pass through our senate, that treaty is going to have to fight word for word, through a mountain of idiots because they are bought and sold by the NRA, and Kerry knows it. Those senators that actually support it will be muzzled by the loud booms of idiocy. Regardless of how people feel about the NRA or our second amendment rights, or the fact that this treaty won’t touch those, that won’t matter because all of them will only see one thing: control. And, we all know how our current senate feels about gun control of any kind. They aren’t really a huge fan.

This is a bonus for our current administration because ultimately, they may want to curve internal gun regulations, due to an extreme elementary shooting disaster, but it isn’t about global control on the large scale. Like with all others, it just wants the people of the U.S. to believe that we are helping, not hindering. We are preventing, not creating. Reading Chomsky’s article is a sick reminder of the falsity behind that statement. The current and ongoing disaster in the middle east, especially our continued relationship with Israel in the way of arms….I could go on and on.

I’m not saying that U.N. treaties are the answer to systemic change, simply because of the United Nations organizational practices in itself. It has a lot of room for improvement; however, it is a global body that is trying to work together, among hundreds of different perspectives.

What I do know is that when reading Chomsky’s words, it’s something. It’s people on a global platform standing together stating that they are willing to try, for the first time ever in history on this issue, and in the very dangerous world of nuclear warfare and arms trades, I’ll take that next step, and look at it as a positive. It is a handshake.

A handshake that scares the shit out of the U.S., the world’s leading exporter of arms.

Thanks for listening. Vomit concluded.