My grandfather had a repertoire of stories from his childhood that were always entertaining. He particularly spoke of growing up with his grandmother who took care of him after his own mother died in childbirth. His tales of life in rural Virginia at the end of the nineteenth century provided a view into both his past and his personality which was always a bit mischievous.
On one occasion his grandmother was hosting a little party for some of her lady friends. She instructed young Bill, my grandfather, to play outside and stay out of trouble while she entertained. Because he was not the least bit interested in small talk with a bunch of older women, he was happy to be outdoors exploring. That’s when he noticed an old rotting log lying in such a way as to tempt him. He would later insist that he only intended to provide his grandmother with firewood, but what he really enjoyed was the idea of breaking the gigantic log apart.
Without thinking about any unintended consequences he began beating on the rotten wood with a large tree branch that he found lying on the ground nearby. It was fun to watch the chips of wood fly into the air as the weak spots on the log gave way to his force. His success in creating a crack compelled him to keep going with his task. Soon enough the massive trunk blew wide open and freed a nest of bees that had been creating a home for themselves inside.
The insects swarmed around Bill and began stinging him on every part of his body. Not knowing what to do he ran for a nearby pond shedding his clothing as he raced toward the place that he hoped would provide him with relief from the relentless and angry bees. By the time he reached the water he was buck naked but he didn’t care because once he dove into the water the bees flew away.
The ladies had convened outside after hearing all of the hollering and commotion. They were curious about what had happened to the boy. When he rose from the water in his birthday suit they all gasped and began making excuses to go home. Meanwhile Bill’s grandmother stood with her hands firmly planted on her hips and an expression on her face that told him that he was in big trouble. She wanted to know why he had done such a stupid thing without even thinking about what may happen. She wanted to know why he had destroyed the peace and joy of her party.
I have been thinking about my grandfather’s story ever since I heard about Trump’s decision to bomb Iran without conferring with Congress or even considering what may result from his unilateral decision. Somehow I feel that he has created the possibility of horrific consequences resulting from his rashness. Instead of bringing peace to the world as he claims, it feels more like he has endangered all of us in this nation for reasons that need not have happened. Now we are all standing wet and naked wondering what the Iranians will do in response to his ill considered actions.
It is difficult to imagine that any country in the world would not think that what Trump has done to Iran was a declaration of war. Which nation would not be inclined to fight back after such an incident? It seems that Trump has released a dangerous nest of trouble when he should have thought a bit more before taking it on himself to put us all in danger. Surely he now understands how heightened the possibility of terrorism has become when even his own Department of Homeland Security has declared the danger to be real.
Right now anyone who is worried has cause. The Department of Homeland Security is on the verge of running out of funding because of the ridiculous immigration raids and quotas that they have funded. Hurricane season is here and there are strong hints that any place being hit may not receive the usual assistance that has helped people to rebuild in the past. A twenty two year old with no experience whatsoever has been put in charge of terrorism while Trump insists that we are on the verge of world peace. He complains that he has never received the Nobel Peace prize in spite of his many efforts to make the world safer, expecting us to believe that we are in much better shape than we were before he bombed a nation that has rarely been known for its live and let live attitude. At the same time he has flaunted the law and demonstrated extreme cruelty to immigrants many of whom were attempting to follow the laws.
I sincerely hope that all will end well but experience tells me that Trump has really messed up this time. I hope that my nightmares will not become real. I’d like to believe that my concerns will all be unfounded but somehow past experience tells me that a small man playing soldier has done something really terrible without thinking, and now he and our nation are standing exposed.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 