[image: Annapolis Rock, 2010, JA Van Devender]
Proverbs 10:10 (NKJV)
10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall.
A measure of how far this country has declined, and has merited that decline, in the eyes of the world, was fully on display this week with the shameful antics of Dennis Rodman on CNN.
At this point I don't think I have to go into the specifics. As a matter of fact I think one of the best tactics that the entire population of the United States of America could take would be to collectively and individually turn our backs on the guy and never countenance him or anything he says ever again. The only honorable stance our Government could take is to declare, publically, that he is officially classified as a "fool" with full support of the Biblical data to back it up. It would be too late but at least it might at least allow the possibility of regaining some credibility in the world and some semblance of self-respect at home.
However Rodman's case is, unfortunately, only one more instance of ridiculousness that has essentially characterized this nation's public image over the past few years. We have endured the embarrassing spectacle of highly placed government bureaucrats dressed in costumes and prancing on a stage in "team building" boon-doggles funded by tax payer dollars. We have abandoned individuals (such as Shakil Afridi in Pakistan) who risked their lives to help us and who now languish in prison or endure torture, and this, after we have publicly told the story of how they helped us and reveled in the "glory" of a successful mission. We have allowed Americans to be killed, outright, in Benghazi without so much as a token response much less a serious attempt at rescue. We have stood by while "lines drawn in the sand" have been not only violated but arrogantly defied. We have abandoned those Iraqi voters, whose inked thumbs were so proudly held up after they went to the polls for the first time in their lives, and have given them over to the almost certain genocide that is in the offing. At home we have watched our political system, once the envy of the world, descend into madness, as corrupt bankers buy and sell politicians like so many Barbie dolls and walk away scot-free after defrauding the public of billions of dollars. It goes on and on. It is just plain ridiculous.
Most Americans, now, I think, are no longer proud of the fact.
The most "newsworthy" aspect, in my opinion, of the Dennis Rodman case is that, in the eyes of the world, he represents us better than any other figure. We have become viewed as buffoons, possessing resources for greatness, but squandering our moral capital like a drug addict on a binge.
What hope does Kenneth Bae, the American citizen currently jailed in North Korea, have that his country can exert influence to bring him home? Not very much I am afraid. About the only thing we can hope for is that Russia, that repository of human virtue, as exemplified by the noble Mr. Putin, will use their "good offices" to get him freed. They are on a roll after all. It is their rockets who blast our few remaining astronauts into space... it is their efforts that have brought about the current suspension of chemical/biological warfare in Syria... they are"hosting" Mr. Snowden, purely on humanitarian grounds of course... and they and China are the only hedge we have against Iranian conquest of Iraq.
No wonder Israel looks at us with disgust. No wonder Japan is re-arming in the face of Chinese saber-ratlling. We are perceived, with justification, as ridiculous - not to be taken seriously - a teetering economic house of cards which will, in due time, collapse.
Dennis Rodman may very well be the true face of corporate America.
I'm a little fuzzy on what sort of collective action you would like to see in North Korea, but you've been negative towards my aggressive stance in the past.
Posted by: Ephisus | January 09, 2014 at 12:56 PM