Opposites

[degringolade]

 

Expressionism / Gabriele Munter/ Breakfast of the Birds

Rainy season this week, I brought out the raincoat and will work on getting my ass out for walks even if it is raining, but that comes with the caveat that when that occurs my enjoyment of the walks goes way down and the walk becomes more a chore that needs to get done rather than something I look forward to.  Sigh

Screed

I am bouncing back and forth between warring narratives on the war on the Russian Steppes.  As I have stated firmly before, I don’t have a dog in this fight and I don’t think that USA should be sticking their noses in something that isn’t their business.  Simply put, Fuck Nuland.

But there we are, fucking around where we shouldn’t be fucking around.  Sigh

All that being said, I keep an academic eye out on the kerfuffle in Ukraine.  And this is harder than one thinks.  The “sides” of the issue are spewing out false information as fast as they can lay their busy little fingers onto a keyboard.  The fanbase is out plugging the virtues of the home team and the management on all sides are spewing out slanted press releases as fast as they possibly can. It is an information sewer and it is getting worse.

I have heard the saying for years, but it applies here perfectly:  

The opposite of a bad idea is usually another bad idea.

Being older and having been through this shit too many times already, I am retreating to my reading and my recollection of history.  I suppose that while history doesn’t really repeat itself, it does rhyme and the histories, while written by the victor, have been washed through the academic wringer enough times that the polish has worn away in places and you can see the metal underneath sometimes.

So today is my reading list that I have plowed through lately to a.) forget about the current mess, and b.) give myself some perspective on what the hell is going on.

The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, Edward Luttwak

The Proud Tower, Barbara Tuchman

The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman

The Impending Crisis, David Potter

Now, if you are expecting these to be a primer on the current situation, you will be sorely disappointed.  I think that if you kind of let these four books together act as an ideological lens, you might just get closer to figuring out how we arrived where we are right now here in ‘Murca.

It ain’t absolute, but the intersection of politics, resources, morality, and strategy is pretty crowded right now.

Somethings gotta give.