There are turning points that change everything - what will we choose?

Too often, like a spark in a dry forest, violence rages quickly out of control

Which way will we go?

In a long ago summer, a poor teenager found himself in the right place at the right time, with a gun in his pocket. The shots he fired ricocheted around the world, left millions dead, countries devastated, boundaries redrawn and a desperate effort to not let it happen again. The teenager was Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian who shot and killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess von Hohenberg. That assassination sparked the first World War which led to World War II and we are still dealing with the aftermath of those shots.

After the assassination in 1914, no one knew what would unfold

but violence was unleashed and, fed by hate and unrest, it exploded.

There is a lot of dry tinder in our world today … the violence of war, a government in the process of being dismantled by an unelected outsider, the breakdown of peaceful agreements among political parties and countries, the greed of the wealthy, the poverty of the hungry.

We are in dangerous times. The decisions we make in the coming months could be as important as that young man in Serbia choosing to react violently to the unrest in his country.

Interesting video about one thing at stake in Ukraine … rare earth metals required for technology.

We used to be one of the good guys … a peace maker and keeper … now we’re rapidly becoming just a deal maker and a Russian pawn. We’ve seen Ukraine invaded and watched the brave Ukrainians fight back. We’ve been part of the world’s efforts to stop a bully. Under President Biden, we were deepening our relationships and commitments to peace with other countries.

Now our elected President has reduced the Ukrainian conflict to a real estate deal … and broken trust with Europe and maybe even Japan. I see two possible outcomes (which probably means there are a dozen others) …

1) We and the world continue to support Ukraine and help them survive. In that case, we do what’s right, help bring peace to the world, and wind up in a favorable trade agreement when peace comes to Ukraine.

2) We pull the plug on our support and oppose Ukraine’s entry into NATO. In that case, after Ukraine is decimated, Russia goes on a land grab, and we become an untrusted outcast in the world, dependent on Russia or China for our supply of the rare earth metals we desperately need. And, of course, Russia can be trusted to give us a great … maybe the best ever … trade deal.

Hegseth rules out NATO membership for Ukraine and says Europe must be responsible for country’s security - CNN

#2 sounds like such a bad idea that it pokes my inner conspiracy theorist. During 45, there was a question going round asking, “What does Putin have on Trump?” I didn’t pay attention to it then but now I’m wondering.

Why would Trump throw away the goodwill the US has built up in the world since WWII in order to kowtow to Putin, who, as far as I can tell, is not trusted by anyone?

Here’s another wildcard: Japan.

After World War II, Japan wrote war out of their constitution. Now they are changing their strategy … perhaps they no longer trust the United States as a force of peace?

Trump/Russia Background from Wikipedia:

Donald Trump has pursued business deals in Russia since 1987, and has repeatedly traveled there to explore potential business opportunities. In 1996, Trump trademark applications were submitted for potential Russian real estate development deals. Trump, his children, and his partners have repeatedly visited Russia, connecting with real estate developers and Russian government officials to explore joint venture opportunities. Trump was never able to successfully conclude any real estate deals in Russia. However, individual Russians have invested heavily in Trump properties, and, following Trump's bankruptcies in the 1990s, he borrowed money from Russian sources. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have said that Russia was an important source of money for the Trump businesses.

MORE: I’ve been wondering why I’m writing this stuff. I have no answers or expertise to share, no power or money to share or gather. I’m just a curious citizen wondering how and why we’ve wound up here, and if we’re going to figure our way out of this mess.

I am also more fearful these days than ever before. After WWII, the world came together and formed the United Nations … deliberately in a way that gave it little power.

Leaders who want peace honor the work of the UN.

Leaders who want more power see the UN as an obstacle.

I’ve been here for a long while and have seen a lot. What I see now looks like the beginnings of violence and, possibly, war.

The decisions we make in the next few months are important and could determine the world we will live in and leave to our children.

Each one of us will play a part in determining which way we go. We can ignore it and hope it turns out okay … it usually has before. Or we can come together and talk about how to build the country that works for all the people.