This post is for all those naysayers that have nothing but crap to say about diplomacy.
In the 70’s I worked for the US State Department and I left there in 1980 when I saw the writing on the wall…diplomacy meant nothing it was all about the proxy wars we could finance and eventually fight.
Since 1970 I had been an antiwar person and thought that the state department would be at the forefront of all diplomatic endeavors….boy was I wrong!
Since 1980 diplomacy has been in decline….not accurate….it has been in free fall……
It takes enormous courage to protest a war, but when is it ever relevant to do so? There is a crisis in American democracy, yet there is no appetite to protest the decline of diplomacy. Many people believe Russia can’t be reasoned with and any chance for a negotiation is only a dream. Nobody should make a deal with the devil, they say. Americans have been led to believe that the heartbreaking war in Ukraine is beyond diplomacy.
And if there is no more time for talking, where then are we headed? Perhaps our distaste for dissent will weaken America, which was founded on the strength and value of American opinions. Differences of opinion are essential for a functioning democracy, this is the backbone of the first amendment. America’s diversity depends on its multitude of voices, which have never been more important. Dialogue is the practice of democracy.
World history continuously tells the story of peace and power, as progress is gained and lost throughout time. Bertrand Russell was once asked what message he would give to future generations. He suggested the necessity of tolerance, humans must learn to live together.
Intolerance has existed not just in recent history, but as a driving force behind all wars. In the face of global insecurity, only the strengthening of democracy through reason and discussion, has the potential to prevent tyranny. For freedom and equality to exist, disparate voices must be heard. Why then has criticism of the war been so readily dismissed as anti-American?
The Decline of Diplomacy
I still believe in diplomacy but as I read blogs and comments I think I am in a minority….Americans seem hell bent on world domination and interventionism…..it is veiled greed on the part of corporations that actually run this country…..
Be real!
If you do not have suitcases full of cash then your voice is little more than a fart in the wind.
At what point do Americans tire of war and the infliction of pain on the world?
Turn The Page!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
Same here. Diplomacy has been replaced by cheast-beating, and hollow threats.
Best wishes, Pete.
Seems all the allies prefer war to peace…..never a good sign for the future. chuq
May I say:
Diplomacy seems to be below the “dignaty” of the worldpowers this day and age.
They always have the “luxery” to get their way by force in any shape or form.
Diplomacy is that what makes a country more reliable.
Disgarding diplomacy makes it deaf and blind for what other smaller nations think, want.
Very important why
The often paternalistic, ignoring local customs, historical background and just threathen, doesn’t work
The US believe they know why other nations are wrong and they’re right.
Always right,what is there to learn!
Diplomacy, that’s not the Americsn Way!
Marie you are so right….that is why I left the diplomatic service…..chuq
Well I have suitcases full of cash but my suitcases are still not big enough to give me a voice in much of anything. It is always the size of the suitcases.
Hopefully you are a voice…..chuq
Usually the only person who pays attention to my voice is the guy on the telephone from the brokerage (Mark). My friend Jim pays attention, you and Pete Johnson pay attention, the cashier at the various merchants pay attention .. that is about the sphere of my influence.
I know the feeling…LOL chuq