“Hope without guarantees”

Our connection to the world.

The history of man is one of struggle. No matter if you believe man was created by god or evolved from the primordial soup, the more recent history of man has been one of struggle.

Man vs. other species, Man vs. the elements, Man vs. Man. No matter who we are at odds with we have, as a species, had to overcome the need for food, shelter and security. Those same situations still continue today, whether it is in Africa, Asia or South America, parts of the world still have man battling his surroundings to make a better home for himself and his family.

Those countries that have risen above some of this struggle form a “Core” as Thomas PM Barnett puts it in his book, “The Pentagon’s New Map” of connected countries. This connectivity is based on our common desire to trade goods and ideas across international boarders. Conspirators would contend that this is the “New World Order” that Pres. Bush (41) talked about during his presidency. Although Mr. Barnett is not against an open boarder policy, I am. I believe in the old saying that “good fences make good neighbors”

These countries outside the “Core” are called the “Gap” and are not as well connected. They have a much lower standard of living and are the regions were the U.S. and its partners have had to be involved militarily since the end of the cold war. Bosnia, Iraq, Africa are all places we have had to deal with because their populations and leaders do not want to participate in a friendly manner with the rest of the world.

They use excuses like,”it’s the devil in Washington” or, “it’s the Jews” fault, instead of understanding that their people will never get better, that their economies will never grow without the rest of the world.

Take Iran, they have all the oil they will ever need, they export enough to make them wealthy (930 million barrels per year), they consume less electricity then they produce yet they want nuclear energy. However, with their resistance to the west we have no choice but to doubt their intentions. If this were Mexico wanting to have nuclear energy, we might have to have a talk with them, but we would probably help them because we know they are very connected with our economy and not a military threat. Iran on the other hand is an unknown variable.

The United States is still the best hope for the world to live in peace. Despite what you might read, we are the only ones who can get people together but they must want to connect with the world. Our allies must also want the “Gap” countries to connect with the rest of the world, but until those countries understand that they will not be successful unless they can export goods other then oil, and that we will buy it, there will be no chance for peace.

All we have is hope for the future without guarantees.

Chris Mendelsohn
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