Looking over headline events of late, it is easy to become pessimistic over the course of world affairs. From one end to the other there seems to be problems. Over the past five years I have moved from cautiously optimistic to down-right concerned at times. Here are some of the reasons why I am concerned over the storm clouds that I see gathering.
- Iran — I don’t see much efforts to stop the next Hitler. We killed off one Hitler in Saddam Hussein and that was reason for optimism. I am concerned, however, over the lack of seriousness taken by most nations to the grave dangers posed by a nuclear Iran.
- Russia — The reports I hear is that it’s looking more like the Soviet Union there of late. Putin’s political enemies are mysteriously dying while he appears to be amassing power.
- The Democrats — I don’t see a single leading Democrat among the Presidential contenders who has a backbone strong enough to take on the terrorists in Iraq let alone deal with preventing a nuclear Iran. There is lots of talk but no assurance of any serious action to stop terrorists and emerging threats.
- The Republicans — I don’t see what I would call a truly good national leader in the whole party. There are pockets of strength and some promising individuals but I’m afraid the glaring problems are more evident right now.
- Erosion of Human Rights — There are massive human rights problems in dictatorial parts of the world like Myanmar and Darfur. Other nations like Russia are experiencing a regression into a totalitarian-styled regime. Even many western nations are limiting freedoms in the name of hate-crimes legislation and anti-terrorism laws.
- Energy Policy — It seems that most of the world’s supply of energy is concentrated within political hot spots — dangerous places that are politically unstable and undesirable trading partners. And to make matters worse, most Democrats continue to oppose enhancing our domestic capabilities to produce energy. That’s simply wrong and very short-sighted. It makes us and our economy extremely vulnerable.
So with these things in mind, there is a lot to be concerned about. I offer them as a warning of pending danger given the current direction and trends. However, even though storm clouds are gathering, that does not guarantee a storm is coming. A strong wind of change could sweep through and blow these problems away. It’s also comforting to know that even within a storm there are reasons for hope and places of shelter. It’s also true that most of the time things are not as bad as they appear.