This is confession time. We columnists sometimes have difficulties coming up with an article that will be enjoyed by you, the reader. Something on the page that peaks your interest. Or something about the guys that are supposed to be running our country, about which you see often enough on TV. I mean, I don’t know if you care about politics. My Angel said I have informed you about my opinion on that subject plenty of times.
After I have sat around talking with my muse (My Angel) to come up with something you might be able to read without having problems, I usually write of my family, my dogs, my cars and what it’s like to grow old. Some of these things you may be as familiar with or more so than I am.
Growing old is one that almost everyone knows about. We won’t use anyone that is older than a teenager. Until they are close to graduating high school, many young persons go by the same adage I used to use: “I will never grow as old as Mom or Dad.” Teens don’t realize how fast time moves. Well, maybe if they have a school paper that needs to be turned in by a certain date. Many columnists pick up the paper and find something that interests them on a few pages. Usually it’s about something that is happening currently or will happen, according to them, in the near future.
I use many different methods to decide what will be turned in this week, and I try to have the idea gel in my head prior to the day before the editor starts wondering if I am going to turn in my contribution. I will tell you that my opinions are my own and the only way I will change them is if proof of error is shown. Although, you may have a different perspective on any subject I have chosen.
Another truth that I want to mention is that I have real problems writing about the current state of politicians we have in Washington today. I would much rather write about a new litter of puppies my neighbor’s dog whelped last night. I may even mention a merchant of our fair city that does a real good job of treating his/her customers like family.
Today I am reaching back to a paper I wrote one day as I was sitting at my computer trying to just practice my skills. I pulled it out once I decided the debacle of the exodus of all Americans and the allies we had made in Afghanistan were over. Of course, I thought the terrible affair was over. Since then we have heard some terrible things about our president and his minions about what was done and how the whole deal was a morbid joke.
The subject matter of this paper happened once many years ago and I had to study to determine if you would even care to read about peace talks with another country we had invaded and left in shambles. Another war we did not win. Nobody cares to hear about all shenanigans that our president pulled during that terrible time, but just knowing a couple of things may pique your interest about what all is happening now.
After we had sent thousands of men and all the surplus equipment we had hanging around since the Second World War, we found that this was not going to be easy. The South Vietnamese were very good at war because they had been fighting the French for many years to rid themselves of the yoke of oppression that the French held over them since the French made Vietnam a colony after WWII.
The leaders of the country did not care for that and decided to have their own country above the 38th parallel, and it was run by old Ho Chi Minh. He was a communist and our sworn enemy was the Soviet Union, so the two of them joined up to fight the USA who, through its leaders, had decided we hated the communists. Most of what happened that has been talked about and the mothers of the sons and daughters that went to war were crushed when they heard how barbaric some people can be, even their children.
As you probably know, the war went on for quite a while, killing with abandon kids who had been drafted and had absolutely no interest in being in that terrible place.
Then, after seeing the United States practically going crazy, the politicians decided to hold peace talks. This was in 1968. I should mention here that the president at the time was Nixon and he was so driven to win the election to president that he ordered any concessions made by the North to be rebuffed.
Most of the soldiers, no, make that all the soldiers, in Vietnam wanted to go home and let the Vietnam people decide their own fate. After that, there were more lies told by both parties and the war continued to chew up our young.
President Nixon finally signed the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, and the war was declared over on April 1975 — five years after Nixon failed to deliver the peace offering that had been approved so he could be elected. There were 58,148 Americans who died in Vietnam, 304,000 wounded, all due to politics and vanity by the politicians that were in Washington.
Now you are probably asking why I wrote this. Why go over what has been so long ago? I ask you to watch what is happening now at our Capitol City. Americans left in a combat zone with no support, people that are afraid for their lives because they helped the USA. Could it be that politicians are doing things that are simply for their vanity? Is our president lying about his son’s nefarious activities due to some bid-pro-quo?
Strange that I write this in a family paper, but you know, all the kids killed, wounded and maimed were once our neighbors and friends.
What’s going on with Worthy? Has he lost his mind? No, I think I just want folks to think about the politicians that go to Washington almost broke and come home millionaires. Everything in Washington is about money. The greatest generator of money in Washington is war. I don’t think we need to keep repeating the act of war. You know, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
God Bless.
