Fall 2011 - Jewish War Veterans of the United States

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CommentaryBy PNC Robert M. Zweiman, Chairman, Coordinating Committee“IF THEY ASKED ME, I COULD WRITE A BOOK”The United States: a Superpower? Not if othershave their way about it. The guy at the top ofAmerica is a target bombarded here and abroadby envy, greed, power, and whatever else candemean our nation in its projected decline.Thirty-three Latin American countries havegotten together to economically challenge theUnited States globally. As long as they make iteconomic rather than political, they have a shotat becoming viable as a player, but not for thetop spot.There is Turkey and the Shiite Islamic nationswhich are developing through the ArabSpring and looking toward positioning themselvesas a modern Ottoman Empire, to thedismay of other nations who view them withconcern. We would have to look to our Sunnifriends, who have taken advantage of us for somany decades with oil dominance – they mayturn out to need us more than we need them in anew world market.There is our old friend China and SoutheastAsia. We could have a problem with India, althoughmoney always has a leveling property.Both of them already own large parts of UnitedStates properties and farms. They could evenput together a NAFTA approach with Canadaand Mexico. Canada is developing energy andMexico is economically developing domestically– who knows we may someday find illegalimmigrant Americans in Mexico.There is our friend Russia, which used to bea superpower, and has become a big oil playerand may move west. Right now they may alsohave our problem with their citizens looking ata looser government friendly to its people.It is important to realize that all of the abovenations had the ability to prevent the UnitedStates from being too big to fail, yet none ofthem came forward with offers of assistance– leaving us with stimulus packages of differentdimensions to provide money to nourishGoldman Sucks and its vampire hordes.So, the world looks to record the Rise andFall of the American Superpower. America’sdecline is a reason for ecstasy (not the drug eventhough the effect may be similar); although ifthe past is any indication, our detractors willalso suffer unless they form many consumerbases.While the world glories in America’s decline,the largest group of people consumedwith promoting the philosophy of decline arethe American people. Day in and day out themedia, television, and politicians contaminateAmerican thinking – getting our citizens to debasethemselves and our society. We are delugedwith false economic teachings. We requireour citizens to place blame upon themselvesfor our ills, and grind themselves into a flour ofshame. If we don’t respect ourselves who else isgoing to do so? No one - especially not our ownchildren.The latest slide into our political unrealityis the elimination of all restraints in the existingchild labor laws. While our children keepfalling down the scales in educational standing,politicians want to make them into commoditiesinstead of competitors. I’m convoluted enoughto see some validity in their thinking. We can deportall our illegal immigrants, and then providebackup child workers for our farms (it may behard labor, but they have to learn that life is nota pumpkin pie) and other places (school toilets,retail, and factories) where we are stuck havingto pay lower than the so-called minimum wage.What kind of stupidity is the American citizenwilling to accept and live by? How gullible hasthe American citizen become that we are willingto be motivated and governed by slogans?Well, we have to wakeup and understandand accept where we are and start to figure outhow to change our declining future. Are we ofthe mind that we must immediately repair allfinancial and money markets with a lot of unneededmoney and giving it to the people whoput us where we are, or do we say that we do notconsider money in any form the sole commodityof supply and demand? How many peopledoes it require to run government money printingpresses? First thing we have to do is to realizewhat our useable assets are and seek to developthem.Probably the first asset, which we have ignored,is education – this requires an intensesurge. Another asset is creative technology,which we are letting slip through our hands tooutsourced countries whose people come hereto our universities and by sending universityunits and colleges overseas.What is interesting in this area is that companies,such as Pfizer, (they are not alone) havelaid off 1,100 employees. They are not seekingto reduce costs of operations or increase profits,but solely to build up their cash resources to buyback an additional $5 Billion worth of their ownstock. What’s even more fascinating is that the1,100 people came out of the research and developmentlabs who might have created medicinesto contain or cure America’s or the world’sillnesses. Now ain’tthat a kick in theteeth? But don’t beconcerned, Merckopened a new research and development headquartersin Beijing, China with 600 employees.This could make us a sick nation in decline.When we started out as a nation, one of ourprimary assets was agriculture, much of whichhas now been sold or leased to multinationalcorporations who pushed out the old mom andpop farms and yet receive federal monies byway of subsidies and grants. Agriculture is anasset which can’t be picked up and outsourcedby acreage, shoveled into a ship, and sent overseas.So why not look at it as a resource for nationaldevelopment and employment? The produceis not merely food for consumption hereand for export, but also through technologicaladvances has been used in the creation of manyproducts which can industrially be made in ourown nation. Who knows? It might even reducethe number of food stamps.It is obvious that any planning cannot be accomplishedovernight, but that should not stopus from beginning. You can begin by layingaside all the political posturing. The mediocrityof those running and seeking to run the country,after a while, becomes nauseating and issuesbecome without meaning or importance toa creative solution.At one time we had a Depression, and wealso had a CCC, WPA, TVA and other alphabeticalagencies which provided for employment,infrastructure development, cultural advances,social security, etc. With World War II and warproduction most of them were gone.Right now an opportunity may be presentingitself with the 40,000 or more veterans comingback from Iraq and Afghanistan and thegovernment program for retraining, educationadvancement and the like. It calls for legislativetools, so do not use the many for-profit schoolswho steal away the proceeds of GI Bill rightsleaving the veteran without education, training,or the ability to function in our society.The education retraining project is now fullyin effect (I hope) and as it develops it can beexpanded to the many unemployed, homeless,and others requiring retraining, new opportunitytraining, education and all of the creativitywhich we are able and qualified to bind together.I know I have written a number of timesabout a National Service Plan. Each time it hasbeen shot down with the misunderstanding that6 The Jewish Veteran Fall • 2011 www.jwv.org
ANNOUNCING JWV’S NEW ONLINE POST 77AND A NEW ONLINE MEMBERSHIP FORMThis winter, JWV introduced two exciting newfeatures to its online collection: Schulte-Bruckenthal Post 77 and an online membershipform.the online post makes it possible forpeople to be members of JWV from anywhere inthe country or the world. Prospective memberswho were unable to join a post because they livein a remote area, will no longer face barriers tofull membership in JWV. This is also an excitingopportunity for the men and women currentlyserving in the military. JWV membership is freefor active duty servicemen and women, andthis online post will give those deployed abroada way to immediately engage with JWV, whichwill make them more inclined to continue theirmembership when they return home.the new online membership form servesas the perfect complement to JWV’s enhancedpresence on the Internet. The online form willallow prospective members to quickly and easilysubmit an application to JWV. Without havingto rely on the post office, JWV will be able toapprove new members in half the time.Visit the Schulte-Bruckenthal Post 77 at: http://onlinepost77.jwv.orgTo join online please go to: http://www.jwv.org/online_membership/users/membershipCommentaryit is a replacement for the voluntary Americanmilitary. NOT SO!A National Service Plan can lead to a rebirthof our way of life. It entails exactly what we aredoing with the returning veterans by integratingthem into a society from which they were taken(many were pulled from their job ventures asreservists and the national guards).Let’s really be honest, to get ahead in thisnation and the world you have to be smart andhave money. A number of nations are aheadof us, mainly from commercial espionage andtheir own educational system. The most importantingredient to us is education, whether itrelates to technology, health services, construction,infrastructure restoration, and even military,and a national system is the best tool foraccomplishing this, and accomplishment doesnot mean national ownership.Until we recognize that the guys with all themoney are the smartest and most intelligent asto what we are and what we need, we will consistentlybe delusional that there is actually amiddle class (not really just the upper strata ofthe poverty class).The Arab Spring stimulated rallies againstexisting governments which had autocraticleaders denying popular participation. The resultshave been elections and so-called responsivegovernments. It has not necessarily turnedout that way with Islamic majorities (who seekto delude the protesters with claims of openTurkish governments) taking over rather thansecular regimes. In many cases social media hasdriven the mission toward open discussion andimplementation, but who is leading?Social media has also driven a revolt of themind to other nations with mixed results. TheUnited States has also been touched in an unorganizedmanner. The demands are defused asto what the end result should be. Occupy WallStreet unfortunately targets an elusive groupwhich constitutes 1% of America’s wealthy –but, which ones?? This has resulted in a confusionof purpose. Our government is taking theapproach of Arab Nations and has sent police into remove the returning protestors. It becomes acrime to think about the present and the future.Our government does this instead of recognizingthat the protestors consist of students,unemployed, homeless, veterans, foreclosureevictees, and people who have a purpose, but nodirection. The opportunity to mobilize and givedirection to the protestors – by instead of payingmoney for police protection – to use someof the money to put some of them to work onroads, etc. and direct our government based on apositive growth and representation and rebuildingAmerica (we claim to be big nation buildersoutside of America, we should try doing itat home) not solely for the money finding itsway into the hands of non-producers who, withfinancial sophistication, drain purpose from avitally complete end result.I am definitely not calling for or seeking arerun of the 1776 Revolution - or for a Facebookoverthrow of our government. I seek a positivedeployment of the energies and desires of theOccupy Protestors across the country from NewYork to California.We cannot afford another Tea Party (fromeither the right, the left, or from any fanaticalgroups) to undertake any single issues whichdeny our citizens the full enjoyment of our wayof life.A Turkish official at a public meeting commentedon their economic growth vs. the UnitedStates’ decline while Vice President Joe Bidenwas in the audience, and the official said “thefast fish, not the big fish eats the small fish.”Our Vice President, never one with a lack ofAmerican pride, answered by saying, “in a seaof young sharks, the United States was stillthe whale.”Joe Biden has a quality missing in mostof those seeking political office, namelyan American belief, real trust in his fellowAmerican, and an ability to recognize our declineis of our own making and our ability torecover is within our own hands, minds, and desires.Superpower is a nice term, but meaninglessif our citizens continue to suffer from ourown misguided actions or inactions.It’s time for us to take the Occupy Movementout of the hands of any revolutionists and tomake it a meaningful adventure in a populistand democratic capitalism, all built on respectand compassion. We really can’t allow the politicaland greed vampires to control and directour present and future.www.jwv.org Fall • 2011 The Jewish Veteran7
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