April, 2003

I admire America's willingness to blunder into everyone else's life. Like a mother-in-law criticizing the cooking, we fussbudget around, give unasked advice left and right, make ourselves the subject of International Mother-In-Law jokes and accrue an equally treacherous reputation.

Why can't we just shut the hell up and eat at the world's table? Maybe bring dessert. Why this overpowering need to set the table, select the flowers and comment wryly that the meat is wonderful, but a trifle overdone and some of the plates don't match?

Our president doesn't much approve of the result of the recent Russian election. Which is okay I guess, even if the rest of his countrymen could pretty much care less. It's possible that Vladimir Putin wasn't wild about our seating an unelected man to the United States presidency by virtue of our Supreme Court's darkest hour.

But at least he had the sense to shut up.

"Confronted with Putin's campaign against the independent news media, his targeting of influential businessmen and his brutal war for control of Chechnya, Bush has confined his response to expressions of displeasure." (A recent New York Times article by Peter Slevin and Peter Baker)

Mom in law strikes again.

A campaign against the media (read that liberal), targeting of influential businessmen (in this case, giving them the country's resources, environmental and financial) and brutal war (in America's case, a two to one advantage over Russia) sounds a lot like Mom is raging against her own shadow.

Moms in law do this. It makes Thanksgiving and Christmas particularly stressful, don't even mention the occasional Wednesday dinner. Moms in law pick at how we raise our children, having already wounded their own. They might admire the new car, but take the edge off our pride by mentioning that a used Chevvy was always good enough for them and Dad. Their fussbudgetry sends sons-in-law to the local saloon and daughters-in-law to lie down for twenty minutes in a dark room.

It's annoying and we live with it as best we can, but up until now it's never been foreign policy.

Further along, the NYT article points out that "Administration officials say Bush, in recent telephone conversations with Putin, has raised complaints about evidence that Putin has fallen far short of his promises to deliver pluralism and a fair legal system."

So? Putin is the elected president of a sovereign nation, a nearly ungovernable nation, but he's not meeting Mom in law's expectations.

Well, I've got news---Mom in law isn't meeting the kid's expectations, here at home, either. Mom in law promised jobs, environmental progress, educational support, fiscal conservatism, help for the aged, the poor and the homeless, along with a bringing-together of a country shattered by the longest stretch of prosperity in history. Mom in law delivered (with truly astonishing speed) stripped environmental standards, lost jobs, forgotten education, constant assault on our constitutional freedoms, war, incredible debt and the biggest giveaway to the wealthy in history.

I'm not much in favor of all that, but I'd be the first to bridle at another country's criticism of our internal processes and struggles. Butt out, would put my reaction mildly.

I remember a time in my own life, when my then mother-in-law had virtually submerged our children's Christmas in a tidal wave of kid-gifts that turned them glassy-eyed and drowned the living room in small plastic parts. I took her out in the alley and laid down the law of my then-young family. One gift for each child in future. It wasn't easy to do, but she took it, made the best of it and I came to admire her for her understanding that we were a "sovereign nation of family."

It may be a good thing and a useful time to take our national Mom in law out behind the garage. Whoever does that, Putin or someone else, they'll contribute a great service to the family of sovereign nations.

Plus, there won't be so many plastic parts all over the floor.

Get out of the Archives and read what Jim's writing today