Why is this story making headlines?
On Friday, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Chavez’s plans under the law “have caused us some concern.”
Chavez rejected Casey’s statement in his broadcast, saying: “Go to hell, gringos! Go home!”
*Yawn* — or as Adorable Child (AC) would probably say, “Whatever…”
Actually, I’m kidding about AC’s response. When someone swats at her psychological buttons hoping for a reaction, she rarely rises above the provocation… but then again, she’s 10. It’ll be a while before her emotional skin toughens up enough to look impartially upon such idiocy.
Adults, on the other hand, don’t worry overmuch about such tripe and drivel. But what’s with this?
Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense since Chavez was briefly ousted in a 2002 coup that he claimed the U.S. played a role in. The Bush administration has repeatedly denied being involved, although it recognized an interim government established by coup leaders.
Since then, Chavez has consistently accused the U.S. of conspiring to oust him and often asserts the CIA is working to destabilize his government. U.S. officials have denied trying to overthrow Chavez, but they have labeled him a threat to democracy.
He’s a threat to democracy where, exactly? In Venezuela, clearly, but not to the United States.
We really shouldn’t be contributing to this man’s megalomania by paying attention to his silliness — but I’m betting the U.S. won’t be able to ignore him, because Venezuela, like the MidEast, is a threat. It’s just now for the reason named.
The threat is oil — or rather, our unbelievably destructive dependency upon it.
We set ourselves up for this. Our inability to focus on renewable energy has painted our hot buttons with concentric circles, and as a result, it’s pretty danged easy for a petty tyrant to hit the target. Rather than suck it up, admit that our myopia and laziness have created the vulnerabilities, and move decisively on internal solutions, we find ourselves on the defensive… just like a little kid.
We need to grow up and move on. Leave Chavez in his sandbox and out of the headlines.