The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I am in Mexico,
a little less news-connected than when I’m home, but I’ve read enough in the
past 24 hours to see that those very pundits who were dead wrong over how this
election would pan out are back  at it.  
The theme this time is “he’s not tested”, and Biden’s honest remarks
that the U.S. WILL be tested if Obama is elected are being used in an effort to
start the divisiveness AGAIN.

Here’s the deal, folks: Biden is probably the sharpest
foreign policy cookie in a half-backed city, but he is hardly Nostradamus for
predicting this, as evidenced by the Russian’s party pooping response to Tuesday's world changing events.  Of COURSE Barack Obama will be tested.  The REASON he will be tested is simply
because the formulaic, rote responses of the Bush Administration can no longer be relied upon by the enemies of America…and this new President seems to be considerably better intellectually and emotionally equipped to deliver what all bilateral relationships demand.

Just as the whole Red State/Blue State blather looks today like 3 day old guacamole, so does the fundamentally flawed notion that we can make America better
by fomenting divisiveness.  It’s “checks
and balances”, not “seek and destroy”, and remember: "divided we fall".  So don't buy a blatant attempt to rack up ratings as valid political analysis, because it isn't.

So therein lies the supreme irony: this whole effort to create an “us
and them” mentality, such as the horrific lies fabricated about our President Elect by his opponent's team in the final weeks of the campaign,  fear DOES NOT WORK when people care enough to engage in dialogue.  Why do you think Russians have their Kremlin panties
in a bunch?  They are TERRIFIED because they don't know what to do about Barack Obama…and the global response to his election has just completely thrown their KGB-styled world order out the window. 

Fact: change induces fear in those who rely upon a polarized view of the world for their empowerment.  Eliminate divisiveness and
those who use fear to retain power lose control…and characterizing the past 8
years as demonstration of America’s
“strength” is, well, embarrassing.  The world never had problems with Americans and, except for the various extremist nutcases who hate us, we are loved deeply still today….despite the havoc our nation has recently leveled upon the world.  the Truth be told, diplomacy has been all but nonexistent and the United States has lately been
governed like a steaming warship piloted by
a reckless group of drunken semi-sailors.  The world needs America
to lead it and folks, we have BLOWN it.  But they still believe in us, now more than in a very, very long time.

This is what global strength for America means: it means the ability to
protect a nation, build a homeland consensus, and make the world better through
leadership, vision, and human compassion. 
It means sending out the troops when we have no other choice and when
our sights are clearly on the enemy.  It
means sitting down with other nations and galvanizing support among our partners when nations go
rogue, resulting in the creation of international sanctions which have teeth and actually WORK.  It means using your brain
and integrity, a deeply-rooted desire to make the world a better place because you actually buy into the Constitutional assertion that "all men are created equal".  That is what a strong America looks like.

So don't waste a second analyzing the second guessing of the readiness of our President Elect; don't buy what the fearmongers are selling.  Barack Obama is ready.  He will soon be taking office with a cadre of
the brightest minds and most seasoned experts in America and they will be a loyal and
powerful resource, united in purpose and, yes, full of hope…because they have a Chief Executive who inspires them and who can lead them.  Despite what we've been told these last few years, hope does not equal vulnerability.   Colin Powell and a millions of others of our nation's best minds agree, and even Condy shed a tear or two on Tuesday.

New game, guys.  I will leave you with this, an excerpt from a
forthcoming book called “CONQUERING FEAR: THE HEART OF SHAMBHALA”:

                                                The
Warrior’s Weapons

“If victory is the notion of no enemy, then the whole
world is a friend. That seems to be the warrior’s philosophy. The true warrior
is not like somebody carrying a sword and looking behind his own shadow, in
case somebody is lurking there. That is the setting-sun warrior’s point of
view, which is an expression of cowardice. The true warrior always has a
weapon, in any case … The definition of warriorship is fearlessness and
gentleness. Those are your weapons…

Hmmmmm….

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