A Handshake comes before a Hug | Eastern North Carolina Now

   I remain a skeptic/critic of the POTUS' methods and bombast, but I also try to look at results and weigh them against promises. I am neither a cheerleader or mascot for the President but I hope that others might be able to look beyond the theatrics and find some positive results. For the record, I am very aware that the caskets may be nothing more than a pile of rocks and dirt or non USA remains. Fortunately, we have the technology today to aid in the determination of idenity. It is certainly premature to declare success, however it is also premature to declare failure. As in the case with most thinks in human interaction, progress is incremental rather than abrupt.




A Handshake comes before a Hug

   Most boys of my generation got into a few schoolyard skirmishes.  In my generation the men teachers were generally World War II veterans (Here is one of mine) Whatever the reason for the skirmish it was usually resolved with a handshake.  That was part of the character building that teachers of that era administered.

   When I was young I had quite a temper. Combine that with the fact that I had a small statue then and now and you have the makings of quite a few A$$whippings. (Here is another example) Most squabbles for elementary kids involve imaginary slights and perceived insults.  Of course there were the local bullies, but I was fortunate enough to have been raised in a neighborhood where the parents took care of their bully sons once they were advised by the school authorities. Discipline was the keyword for class and playground behavior during the 1950-59 era.

   Often, but not always, the opponent and I became friends. Occasionally we became close friends. But it almost always started with a handshake required by the teacher in charge after the fight.  If the smoldering dislike persisted, both sides would be warned about the possible disciplinary action that lay in wait for them if they continued the skirmishes.

   Yesterday, I watched the return of 55 presumed Korean War Dead to the United States. I admit I have a particularly personal weakness for those who died in combat. It comes with the territory. That war was fought to a stalemate in 1953, which was over 65 years ago.  For the better part of those 65 years we have been on a playground trading taunts and insults at each other.  While we did that, those 55 remains and countless others lay in often unmarked graves and ditches without any closure for the relatives at home.


Korean War Dead Arrive in Hawaii

   There has been much made about the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on June 12, 2018. Depending on what side of the political spectrum you are on, there are differences of opinion on what the future of the relationship between the two countries will be. I note that like my school yard encounters in the 1950s that ended with a handshake, this meeting may have ended with a handshake but it could be the start of a transition from belligerence to accommodation.  The USA set the parameters for the future relationship, and it remains to be seen if North Korea will make adjustments to its actions on the world stage.

   I was reminded of my old grammar school nemesis.  Our multiple skirmishes ended with a handshake, but we never became friends.  I did learn, however, to avoid him on the playground. One of the reasons was that he was bigger and meaner than I was and the other was that he had proven he could whip me on a more than a few occasions.

   I don't know if Kim Jon-un is astute enough to realize the reality that I did back on the playground, but I am thankful that the handshake started a slight thaw in the contentious relationship between the two countries.

   Will there ever be a hug?  Maybe not!
   Will there be another playground encounter? Possibly!
   Can we expect a few Boxing feints in the future? Certainly!


   It is comforting to me to know that we are willing to take a chance as a country and offer the olive branch to North Korea. It is also comforting to me to know we have the capability to Kicka$$ should the need arise.

   I know President Trump does not adhere to Teddy's admonition about "Speaking Softly," but he has the "Big Stick" part down pat. As a matter of history, Teddy was never one to be known to "Speak Softly" himself. Bully for him.


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Comments

( August 2nd, 2018 @ 7:53 pm )
 
That I do.

For the Record, the carrier is the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Commissioned 25 Oct 1986
( August 2nd, 2018 @ 4:51 pm )
 
Good stuff B.T.

I think you know what I mean when I say good stuff.
( August 2nd, 2018 @ 2:28 pm )
 
Agreed. Reminds me of the phrase “ Just because I am paranoid, it does not mean they are not out to get me!”

One if my psychology professors once defined arrogance as the condition where most of the ego is above sea level rather than below it. In stormy seas a top heavy ego (arrogance)can tip over while a submerged ego provides ballast. I have alternated between the two extremes a few times myself; usually in times of high stress.

( August 2nd, 2018 @ 2:07 pm )
 
I tolerate hubris if stuff is getting done, plus, he must wear the armor of ego to constantly combat the Fake News.
( August 2nd, 2018 @ 1:36 pm )
 
I have given President Trump a pass on his hubris before because of his New York roots, but I stopped doing that because in order to be consistent I would have to also give a pass to: Jim Acosta, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Lester Holt, Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, George Stephanopoulos, and all the rest of those on this list:

en.wikipedia.org

That is just too much to ask from a poor Georgia Boy.
( August 2nd, 2018 @ 1:15 pm )
 
Great Post of one of my most interesting subjects, one which is being forgotten by most Liberals, especially those in the Education Industry: The subject of historical perspective, and its unrelenting relevance.

Plus, nothing interests me more historically than Theodore Roosevelt.

He and President Trump are both from New York, and similar in so many ways.



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