Emerging political consciousness, what a difference 4 years can make

[Bonobo]

As an accidental artifact of being born in 1966, I just happened to become politically conscious when Jimmy Carter was president.

I mistakenly believed in moral and ethical positions for the POTUS that now appear to be either impossible or unattainable.

One of those things is "no war". I truly believe that Carter had more respect for life than any president since then.

If I had been born 4 years earlier, I would have become aware with Nixon as president and Vietnam would be my first awareness of American society and war.

If I had been born 4 years later, Ronald Reagan would have set my expectations for what is "normal".

What a difference 4 years can make and what a powerful effect the foreign policy of a nation can have on the internal sense of ethics of a growing young person.

Because what is a nation's foreign policy if not a model for how to treat others?

[Vattel]

1. Not getting us into a war was one of Carter's great accomplishments.

[Bonobo]

2. Yes, and my larger point was that he set a model for growing minds.

A model that SHOWS that war is the last resort instead of just SAYING it but choosing it as a first resort.

[WhiteTara]

3. He did it by proxy.

The Muhjahadeen in Afghanistan and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka are Jimmy's work; or should I say Brezenski's.

[Bonobo]

4. Sorry, not comparable at all. nt

[Vattel]

5. true, the covert stuff was a failure. Brezenski is smart but evil.