Poet and Artist:Douglas Polk

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Judged and be Judged

painting entitled "Mind Blown"

In the early 20th Century, a racist President encouraged the practice of nations being given traits usually reserved for people. Nations, according to him could be defined as good or evil, God fearing or not, and just basically wrong or right.

That president was Woodard Wilson, who in 1918 encouraged the World to blame the losing side in WW I for the war. For the first time, basically in history, nations were blamed for and held accountable for the war. Before Wilson, relations between nations were about politics. Every nation understood, acts and interactions between nations were not to be judged on a moral scale, but on whether the acts were good for the nation or not. Wilson was one of the first international leaders to give moral weight to acts and interactions of nations. Nations began being described as either good or evil, the same as people. Moral judgments were made on every nation and their actions.

Germany was bad, Russia (or the USSR) was bad, but America was good. Americans cared about other peoples and nations, even as America manipulated or exploited less powerful nations. We did it for their own good., telling ourselves we are helping them see the light and goodness of our way of life.

A hundred years later and nothing has changed. America still sees itself as the good nation, while viewing other nations as bad. When the truth is every nation is basically acting in its own best interest, except when this 'fucked up' theory of Woodard Wilson's international politics is promoted.

Ukraine was encouraged by America to fight Russia when Russia invaded Ukraine. Even though the United States understood hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians would die, and Ukraine would never win a war with Russia without foreign troops on the ground in Ukraine. How moral is that? Encouraging the nation of Ukraine to sacrifice hundreds of thousands if not millions of its citizens, even though America knew Ukraine could never win the war. Wouldn't it be better to discuss why the war began in the first place, not accessing blame, but trying to understand how the two countries came to their two different views of reality. Wouldn't now be better to Look maybe to how these two countries can come to an understanding of their shared reality.

How about Viet Nam?

Or Israel and Gaza?

Gaza, or Hamas saw it was in its interest to invade Israel and kill rape and kidnap thousands of men women and children. Israel saw it was in its interest to destroy and invade Gaza. Neither action needs to be viewed as moral actions. What needs to be understood is what is best for both sides. Is it best for Gaza to rebuild and be subject to Israeli rule? Is it best for Israel to allow Gaza to exist or not? The question is not about the morality of either situation, it is about what is best for both sides.

America, is my country, a country I love. But we Americans are not and should not be the moral conscience of the world. Any country can never be morally right or good all of the time. It has to look out for its own best interest regardless of right or wrong.

I am or was a teacher of history. I am so tired of this hypocrisy, of viewing history as good or evil. Past acts of the United States were in its own best interests. We can pretend we were and are only looking for the good and moral . . .but the truth is we are just lying to ourselves. Hoping to make ourselves feel better, when we fuck over the rest of the world, and ourselves. Paying for their silence with billions of dollars of aid.

The 'rule of law' does not exist, people will never be treated equally before the law. The law will do what is in the best interest of the nation, not in the morally right thing to do. The people and politicians who judge and assign good or evil to nations and actions, need to understand, they will also be judged morally. And they will be judged harshly. Mainly because they are fucking fools. . .