Communism?

If I am not mistaken, the first time I encountered the word “communism” in this century was when Donald Trump gave his recent speech at Mount Rushmore. I learned this through an Analysis article in The Guardian, which I encountered this morning. If anything, I find it ironic that Russia’s Vladimir Putin carries the same title as Donald Trump: President! This is not to say that governance in Russia is the same as it is here in the United States, but it serves as a reminder that we need to be careful about the words we choose and the semantics behind those words. Indeed, the very concept of diplomacy usually comes down to a battle of words and disagreements over semantics.

Georges Clemenceau (from his goodreads Web page)

This all reflects on the best known quotation of Georges Clemenceau from the last century: “War is too important to be left to the generals.” One might just as well substitute “heads of state” for “generals.” Disagreements can only be resolved through individuals with a solid command on knowing what they are talking about. Sadly, those individuals are few and far between. They are rarely heads of state and are more likely to serve as advisors. Nevertheless, disagreements can only be resolved through knowledge; and the real problem is finding the right individuals to enable such resolutions.

In that context, I have to confess that I cannot name any names, because, to be perfectly frank, I cannot think of any as I write this!