Here are the options in the Georgian-Russian war as I see them.
-The West keeps trying to find a diplomatic solution, Russia finally stops being stubborn and accepts the Georgian cease fire, and we assess the damage after the fact.
OR
-The West doesn't find a diplomatic solution but doesn't commit to a military action, Georgia is overrun, and the Balkans forever side with Russia, starting the Cold War again.
OR
-The West commits to military action, the Russians back down or are defeated, and the Balkans forever side with the West.
OR
-The West commits to military action, the Russians don't back down and summon their allies to fight, and the future is uncertain.
If the last two options are what ends up happening, and Russia fights instead of backing down (thus making the only plausible end Russia's destruction), it will effectively be World War III.
Remember, all World War's have started with something relatively small. World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. World War II was the invasion of Poland and (for the U.S.) Pearl Harbor. Some reports say that there have been thousands of casualties in this military aggression.
Is this the final showdown of the Cold War?
My, it's been so long! Look at the date difference between these two posts. Even though my last blog entry doesn't say too much that's important, I can still tell I've grown since that time not so long ago. When I posted that, I was fresh into college, 18-years-old, and expecting something special out of the world. Now, I'm officially a "veteran," I'm 20, and I don't expect much out of the world except for what I put into it.
This coming Friday, I am leaving for Florence, Italy, for four weeks - May 25 - June 25. This will be my center of gravity for a while - where I'll post my reflections and, possibly, pictures. It will be my connection to whomever will read this, as well as to a piece of myself that I can read and understand when I'm in a foreign land of foreign words and babbling tongues.
I'm excited, no doubt. But I'm also so afraid that I'm paralyzed. I'm afraid I'm going to walk onto that plane and have forgotten my suitcase, or get to Italy and realize I have no money - or worse, no underwear. But of course, things will go well, I'll have the time of my life, and I'll look back at all of my apprehension and call myself a fool. At least, I hope so.
This will become my critical thinking blog, my Xanga will become my insignificant day-to-day blog, and my Wordpress will become my extremely specialized blog - cultural criticism.
I'm probably spreading myself too thin again, but I don't think I know how to live without doing that. When I was in high school, I took three jobs during my senior year and two during that summer, working anywhere between 40 and 70 hours a week. During my freshman year at college, I jumped into five different organizations. This past semester I took 20 hours, became the coordinating editor of a magazine, associate editor of a campus-wide magazine, joined a new organization, worked at an internship, and balanced friends, family, and a significant other.
So three blogs, a million RSS feeds, eight blogs bookmarked on my browser, a constantly updated forum, and an six-hour a day job in the capitol (which I live an hour away from) is nothing special, nothing new, nothing extraordinary.
Welcome to another world of mine. Hope you enjoy.
