No Ham for You — Hypocritical Ridiculousness as American Leaders Want to Punish Russia and China for Not Cooperating in Catching Edward Snowden — Trust Us to Personalize Conflict, so as Not to Confront Real Issues

25 June 2013

The Edward Snowden NSA leak story — splendidly illustrates America’s penchant for self-defeating stupidity

At every turn, American leaders and pundits are determined to kill the messenger, rather than confront the question of how to balance freedom and privacy against anti-terrorist efficiency.

After labeling Edward Snowden a traitor, weasel — or something equally unflattering in between — prominent Americans are now up in arms that China and Russia apparently did not go only slightly out of their ways to capture the man and hand him over to U.S. authorities.

American authorities and pundits are missing the point — as usual

Lost in this air-headed outrage is the reality that the United States would similarly protect a Chinese or Russian cage rattler.

And only a narrow-visioned fool would think that our geopolitical adversaries should not enjoy a joke at our expense.

Personalizing Snowden’s probably assisted “escape” from China and Russia is the kind of mistake that emotional children make.

In contrast, effective geopolitical strategists recognize that payback of this ironic kind is just a Wryly Humorous Bitch. No point in getting upset about it.

The only people who profit from our emotion-based displays of this kind are our cleverer adversaries.

And then there’s America’s threatened “ham fist” — proving beyond all doubt that some American leaders are complete dopes

The pinnacle to American foolishness over the Snowden escapade is the now often mentioned anti-China Smithfield ham retribution.

The idea here is that Shuanghui International, a Chinese company, wants to buy Smithfield Foods — owner of America’s long storied Smithfield hams:

Keira Lombardo, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications at Smithfield Foods, Inc., confirmed in an interview that the potential sale would also include Smithfield brands:

Eckrich, Farmland, Armour, Cook’s, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Kretschmar, Curley’s, Carando, Margherita, Healthy Ones.

The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will have to approve the sale, but:

Congress has no authority to block the deal but can exert political pressure.

Senator Tom Coburn (Republican, Oklahoma) said on Morning Joe today that America should punish China’s uncivil behavior regarding Mr. Snowden by prohibiting the Smithfield Foods sale — presumably by pressuring the Committee on Foreign Investment to void the deal.

He was not alone in expressing that sentiment among this morning’s newsmakers, who apparently are following Secretary of State John Kerry’s rashly taken lead — meaning that we should not make threats that we cannot back up or make painfully count:

Washington would not look favorably if it turns out that China and Russia purposely chose to ignore American desires to apprehend National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on three felony counts, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry said on a three-day visit to India.

Terming Snowden an indicted felon, Kerry said all appropriate countries have been notified of his status.

“It would be very disappointing if he was willfully allowed to board an airplane” from Hong Kong to Moscow, Kerry said at a news conference with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid, adding that he “would be deeply troubled” if Russia and China knew of Snowden’s plans, “and there would be, without any question, some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences.”

“I’d urge them to live within the law,” Kerry added. “It’s in the interest of everyone.”

Consider the implications of these histrionics

First, Mr. Snowden, weasel or not, exposed NSA activities that Americans should be concerned about.

Saying that our do-nothing Congress was already aware of them means nothing. Congress has shown absolutely no interest in protecting American freedoms, privacy, and economic justice for decades.

Second, making idle threats against perfectly rational and self-interested — even humorous — reactions regarding Snowden on China and Russia’s parts simply makes us look like whining and hypocritical fools.

Third, trying to pressure the Obama Administration into:

(a) blocking the Smithfield Ham to China sale, as punishment for China’s uncivil refusal to extradite Mr. Snowden

instead of

(b) blocking the sale on the foundation of China’s miserable food safety record —

makes us drop from the Bellowing Fools into the Demented Imbecile category of self-defeating intellects.

And then there’s this mind-boggling metaphor for America’s decline

Those who want to block the Smithfield Ham sale, on grounds that China deserves to be punished for the Snowden escape, overlook the laughable technological metaphor that is involved here:

We want to punish China by holding back our centuries old (metaphorical) recipe for smoked ham because the Chinese do not want or need the recipe for the non-existent fusion-powered car in our back yard.

The moral? — The Snowden Affair is showing America at its others-blaming worst

The only amusing thing about (a) the Obama Administration and (b) the public’s mostly complacent reaction to the worrisome elements embodied in it — is the surprisingly close parallel with manifestations of personal psychopathology.

Can a whole nation go and stay crazy?

You bet.

PeteFree.com

No Ham for You — Hypocritical Ridiculousness as American Leaders Want to Punish Russia and China for Not Cooperating in Catching Edward Snowden — Trust Us to Personalize Conflict, so as Not to Confront Real Issues