Diplo-matics: call-backs/recalls, Olympic Proportions; no laughing matter. So much for good cheer.

"History in the making", "All the world's a stage": Two highly familiar quotes which in turn reflect areas of curriculum we have valued enough to keep them in the schools -- what we can learn from history, patterns of behavior (psychology, of course), and the arts...that we might supplement after hearing/viewing this morning's "world news" with..."history unfolding right before our eyes" and "theatre in the round", "theatre of the ____" (you fill in the blank..."absurd"?) Seems like just yesterday that I wrote here a reflection on an Infamous Day in our history, that we here in the U.S. have been marking for 80 years since 12-7-41. We reflect in both honor and hopes that we have learned, gleaning something(s), that we might use to not only prevent the actual calamity from recurring (the closest approximation since represented by the horrors of "9/11"'), but also the larger scale wars involving multiple nations that such calamities can ignite. Three notable events have, currently in progress, that deserve our collective attention, all being characterized in dramatically different manners by the respective stakeholders, the 'players'...but first:

Prologue, Exposition, Playbill: In theatre, call-backs are generally a good thing, giving the aspiring actor hope, encouragement they're being seriously considered, whereas a batter in the batter box being called back to the dugout in baseball means they're about to be replaced. Historical recalls (forgive the redundancy here), retelling history can be either good or bad, depending on the event and the storyteller. Recalls of products are generally bad for the producer but protect the consumer. Hopefully, my recall yesterday and the reflection of call-backs today will be consumed 'diplomatically'...

A Slow Boat from/to China: A common idiom, reflecting the anticipation of both a protracted journey but also one of uncertain, ultimate destination. As we, the U.S. prep our winter Olympians to board automobiles, trains, planes (😎 reversal of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" that a lot of us watch around the holidays) to arrive at Bejing, China for the "2022 Winter Games", we are seeing and hearing  LOTS of verbiage back-and-forth across the oceans, verb tenses, ACTION words...such as "The U.S, has called for a diplomatic boycott due to China's human rights violations and their posturing on Taiwan...the athletes can still go..." (see all the action words)..."The U.S. along with Australia is using this as a manipulation of politics...this so-called boycott is just political posturing...we're prepared to hold the Olympics and show the world what we're made of..." So, the diplomatic corps in one boat could easily cross paths with the athletes in another, who are likely inclined to take their time traversing the seas, not being certain what awaits them, notwithstanding this being the origin of COVID and concerns about air quality (see the last Summer Olympics held in Bejing and the wearing of masks for other reasons), the political waves, currents going in various directions...definitely stay tuned; NBC certainly is...Assuming the games go on as "scheduled" (always liked the Brit pronunciation, which they seem to embellish when they know the world is listening), we will hear and see an athletic feat referred to as "salchow" (rhymes with "row" as in diplomatic)...the judging of which is likely to be highly politicized, at level not experienced since the time of the "Cold War", which could in turn lower the already cold temps there between "US" and "Them"...

Russian Connection, Putin World-Tour: Rumors involving Russia, of course, are becoming part of almost every one of our election cycles. I wonder how the average Russian processes how we are so preoccupied with their political system and leaders. But at this particular in history, a drama is unfolding on their 'front', one which they share with Ukraine, the ramifications of which are being felt at the highest here and elsewhere, prompting stern warnings from our president and others to President Vladimir Putin, who they are having challenge locating at any given moment, given his whirlwind tour, engagements, which are ostensibly a 'good will' gesture, that others interpret as the kind of head fake we will likely witness the next time we see basketball in the Olympics (summer, not winter)...very serious business for the Ukrainians and the rest of the world, if we have studied any history.

Afghan, again and again: Another story that's not going away, much to the regret of a few governments and their press reps, one that once again has serious, even deadly implications for inhabitants, especially those 'left behind', involves the (failed?) nation of Afghanistan, this time (this morning, that is) regarding the diplomatic corps of the UK and the accusations of having failed on behalf of their constituents and proxies who, by their service and/or affiliation, place them at great risk, "behind enemy lines"...While the UK rep accepted partial responsibility and, as expected, expressed grave concern for those in peril, tacitly pointed to the U.S. withdrawal as being the ultimate tipping point (I anticipated this in the interview; it was just a matter of time). 

       So, drama on the world stage, unfolding as I prep to click "publish", all of which are of at least Olympic proportions, have psychological underpinnings, the effects of which will be experienced the world over. So, where's the diplomacy, and whatever happened to the "People to People" program put in place by President Eisenhower at the end of WWII to draw our attention to the lessons of history, and attempt to alter the vector of ill will, when we are not in such good cheer, even this time of year? 

Next up: return to 'tis the season min-series, hopefully with a bit more joy.