OKLAHOMA CITY —
The late George Kennan was an American diplomat who served the U.S. in a variety of diplomatic posts in Eastern Europe in the latter part of the 20th Century. He is perhaps most remembered today for a long dispatch he sent to the U.S. State Department from the American Embassy in Moscow on Feb. 22, 1946, that become known as the “long telegram” and was subsequently published in the journal Foreign Affairs.
In that document the diplomat warned that the Soviet Union was intent on expanding its influence throughout the world, and attributed its aggressive and brutal policies to the communist ideology of the Soviet government as well as the historical insecurity of the Russian state that had been subject to invasions for centuries. Kennan argued that if Soviet threats toward its neighboring states were met with the threat of force from the U.S., the leaders in the Kremlin would back down, and advocated a policy of containment toward the Soviet Union that would include providing military assistance to states such as Iran and Turkey that had to confront Soviet expansionism.
The diplomat also wrote that if the governing Communist Party ever lost control of the Soviet Union it would break apart into independent states. Kennan’s observation proved to be prophetic and in 1990 the nations that had comprised the Soviet Union declared their independence. Most Western observers welcomed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting independence of what had been its member states. But in recent years independence movements have come into being in places that were not formerly subject to communist dictatorships. Late last year an agreement was reached in the United Kingdom that authorizes voters in Scotland to vote sometime next year for independence for their state that has been part of the United Kingdom since 1707. In 1999 the British Parliament had authorized the creation of a legislative body for Scotland and it was thought that that measure would satisfy Scottish yearnings for autonomy. But Scottish nationalist leaders have demanded independence, and British Prime Minister David Cameron reluctantly agreed to a referendum to allow the Scots to vote for independence.
In Spain, the province of Catalonia recently voted in a government that pledged to seek Catalonia’s independence from Spain, despite the fact that the Spanish government in Madrid had said it would not allow the province to become independent.
Last year the Parti Quebecois, which is committed to having the province of Quebec secede from Canada, was returned to power. That Party was first elected to govern Quebec in the late 1970s, and in 1980 and again in 1995 it sponsored referendums for independence that were rejected by a majority of the voters of that Canadian province. Many commentators thought that the 1995 vote marked the end of the Quebec independence movement, but the party’s current leader, Premier Pauline Marois, has indicated that she intends to schedule another vote for Quebec’s independence. If the Scottish and Catalonian separatist leaders are not initially successful in their independence efforts, and polls indicate that a majority of Scottish voters are now opposed to independence from the United Kingdom, they may display a similar tenacity in pursuit of their objectives in the years to come.
There also has been talk of secession in the U.S. in recent months, and citizens from Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and several other states have submitted to the White House website petitions that demand that their states be allowed to secede from the Union. The petition from Oklahoma had more than a thousand signatories.
While most leaders in those states have been dismissive of secession, former Texas Congressman and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 Ron Paul said in November of last year that “secession is a deeply American principle.” Paul forgot to mention that the secession principle was responsible for the Civil War in which 630,00 soldiers died or were wounded.
WILLIAM F. O’BRIEN is an Oklahoma City attorney.
Opinion
Secessionist talk travels the world
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Oklahomans unite in tragedy; set example for country
Whenever we witness the type of devastation wrought by this week’s killer tornado, we naturally struggle with a host of emotions. Those of us in the neighborhood battle to control our anxieties as we gather the information we can about the storm’s strength, location and direction. We experience dismay when we hear the threat above us has touched down and become a real physical menace to our friends, neighbors and loved ones. When the “all clear” sounds, we are thankful that the nightmare is over. When we realize our loved ones are all safe and sound, we rejoice.
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Spirit of Oklahoma strong in tornadoes
Because we’ve been through so much, we are a people who get perturbed when those on our nation’s coasts look down their noses at us. We are a people who get irritated when others tell us how we should live, or what we should believe. We are a people who cringe when others see our waving wheat fields as only flyover country.
We know that we are not perfect, but we are good, we are compassionate and we are giving. It is this spirit which led the teachers at Briarwood and Plaza Towers Elementary this week to use their bodies to shield students from tornado debris. It was this spirit that enabled law enforcement officers to stand in the way of the oncoming tornado to divert traffic from the storm’s path. It was this spirit that compelled Oklahomans around the globe to rush to the aid of their friends and neighbors. -
Let kids start school on a normal schedule
Q: Our son’s fifth birthday is in August. He did just fine, socially and academically, in preschool, but the counselor at the school he’s slated to attend has recommended that we hold him back a year because of his late birthday. She says that kids with late birthdays, especially boys, do better if they’re given an extra year of maturation before starting school. What do you think?
A: The practice of postponing Kindergarten for so-called “late birthday” children — generally defined as children having birthdays after May — got its start about 20 years ago and has generated the usual unintended consequences. Prime among those is the fact that by delaying the start of school for children having birthdays after May, schools only create a new crop of children with late birthdays — those occurring after January.
It’s true that during early elementary school, boys are less mature in several respects than girls. In general, their attention spans tend to be shorter. Therefore, they’re more impulsive and more easily distracted. It’s also true, however, that some children, boys as well as girls, experience developmental “spurts” during Kindergarten. The slightly immature, impulsive 5-year-old may be at the norm one year later. -
No one realizes how tough Okies really are — until this happens
Like many of you, I’m ending this tragic week emotionally drained. I was either glued to the weather report throughout the first part of the week or — when Su-the-dog and I weren’t settled down inside the storm shelter waiting for the all-clear to sound — I hovered with her about the shelter door leading down to it. Now as the week ends, I just might have changed my mind about a couple of things.
Many of us have been on our knees throughout this week praying that God will strengthen and comfort the state’s numerous tornado victims and their loved ones. Some have already contributed to organizations such as the Red Cross or the Salvation Army to aid this week’s victims of various tornadoes, and those who are able have either donated blood or else they will when the Bloodmobile makes its rounds. -
Seeing yourself as the world sees you
Ever try seeing yourself as others see you, or your piece of the world as others see your piece of the world?
You know, if you could get others to see you, or if you could get other parts of the world to see your part of it?
Narcissism and inferiority, both, can trap us in front of a mirror, admiring or lamenting, pleased or not pleased by the vision we presumably offer others.
Yet, what’s happened over the last three days, since yet another deadly tornado rolled through Moore, offers an entirely different perspective.
Through strength or weakness, we may take an interest in how we project. But when the “Today Show” is broadcast from the rubble and the network evening news has placed its anchor amidst the carnage; and when the news channels descend upon the destruction and every newspaper in the country is playing your and your neighbors’ plight bigger than its own hometown news, it turns surreal. -
ROCK DOC: Japanese find a new source of natural gas
The name “natural gas” might be a puzzle. After all, how could there be such a thing as unnatural gas? The reason we call natural gas what we do has to do with history. There was a day that people made burnable gas by heating coal. The gases that came off the coal were piped around cities where they did things like light street lamps and even power cook stoves in homes.
Coal gas had its down side. For one thing, it often contained carbon monoxide. And it took energy to make the gas, so it never could be truly cheap. -
Witnesses missing; Behenna case could be heard at Supreme Court
The film “Breaker Morant” was nominated for an Oscar for the best screenplay in 1980. It told the story of Harry “Breaker” Morant, an Australian who served in the British Army and was court-martialed for alleged war crimes during the Boer War in Southern Africa in the early years of the last century.
That conflict pitted the British Army against the descendants of the Dutch settlers who had migrated to what is now South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries. The majority of them were farmers and in their language of Afrikaans were known as “Boers.” -
Don’t leave Oklahoma!
May is graduation season. As I have done every year as lieutenant governor, I have given multiple commencement speeches. Advice flows freely during this time and it usually runs the gamut. What to do, what not to do, how to do ‘x’, be sure not to do ‘y.’ Too often commencement speakers speak in big generalities. So general, the message is frequently lost or forgotten.
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Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good news for Oklahomans as not only will there be cost savings but all Oklahomans should breathe a sigh of relief when the Legislature stops making new laws a week ahead of schedule.
As usual, the Legislature will take a number of important votes during the last week. Some will be forced due to attempts to introduce and pass far-reaching, new policies that should have been introduced much earlier in the year. -
BY THE NUMBERS: Oklahoma still needs to invest in its economy
After six months of stagnation, the Oklahoma economy finally appears to be expanding again albeit still weakly. Unfortunately, our leaders aren’t making the investments we need to give our economic prospects a boost.
Last week the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported that in April state General Revenue fund collections were 5.2 percent above the estimate and 14.7 percent higher than last year’s collections. Under normal circumstances, such a report would indicate that the Oklahoma economy was very strong. But this isn’t a normal circumstance, and April isn’t a normal month. - More Opinion Headlines
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Oklahomans unite in tragedy; set example for country
