Monday, February 29, 2016

If you build walls, they will tear them down.

Refugees apparently built a home-made ram and broke through a border fence between Greece and Macedonia. Germany learned that if you build a wall, desperate people will tear it down and for very different reasons, the rest of Europe gets to learn it, too. 
There is just so much imagery in the battering ram that I don't even know where to start.These people are desperate and we are now reaping what we sowed. First, we legitimized maniac despots for as long as they had oil or could be utilized against our enemy of the day. When the crazies were gone, we left as well and the door was wide open for other madmen. Will our politicians have the political guts and tell us that it will take a lot of resources on the ground to fix this for real. Based on the experience of the last 20 or so years, I have my doubts. Bush told us to "go shopping". Obama dithers and let Assad cross the red line. The EU is asleep at the wheel and continues its navel gazing stuck in a mindset believing that when the shit hits the fan, the USA will step in (again) to sort out the mess. 
If the main driver of migration was based on economic gains, why do most refugees come from bombed out places? If we want to put an end to this, that will mean sacrifices for us. Our grand-parents still knew that word. We need to learn it again. And unless we are being told the truth by politicians who care more about their principles than their re-election, we will end up with the likes of Orban, Erdogan, and now possibly Trump who sell bogus solutions to us who have become too lazy and too sleepy to learn facts about complex issues.