Naïveté

The English language is chock full of interesting words derived from many different languages. It has always interested me how certain French words have been incorporated as-is into the English language with little or no attempt to "English-ize" them (OK, I know that isn't a real word.) Say what you want about the French language, it certainly is beautiful, as are the other Latin languages.

Naivete. Definitely a French word. Without considering the definition, the very sound of the word is so....appealing. But, this isn't a trait you would want  to be described as possessing. Being naive, while understood to be something limited to the young and innocent, certainly is not exclusive to that demographic. Being naive regarding some things can be relatively harmless. We usually believe that, in time,  that naivete will eventually be replaced by some base level of wisdom and worldliness.

I can accept the naivete of young boys and girls as something to almost expect. But, I have a real problem when it is possessed by the president of our country or other high ranking governmental leaders. Oh, don't get me wrong, I am not desirous of leaders that are full of cynicism, pessimism or unwillingness to trust. I would however, hope for a pragmatic, non-ideologue, experienced person with an acute leadership acumen.

In 1976, we elected Jimmy Carter, a former Georgia governor, as president. I understand that his victory was, in large part, a backlash to the corrupted Nixon/ Watergate, scandalous years. My impression, however, of Jimmy Carter was based on his years as governor and his rhetoric throughout his presidential campaign. I believed him to be a naive ideologue (nowadays he just seems to be a mean-spirited, petty, ideologue.) That impression was proven to be true based on his performance in almost all facets of his presidency, especially his economic and foreign policy. His lack of understanding of the real world or his belief that his leadership could cause that world to stop behaving the way it had predictably behaved was a significant problem. The "why can't we all just get along" sentiment while impressively optimistic, was dangerously naive.

Fast forward to today. I believe that the current president suffers from similar attributes as Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama believed (and maybe still believes) that if America had a leader that would extend the olive branch to other world leaders/countries that had historically demonstrated a hatred of America, that they would realize the error of their ways and embrace him and our country as a friend. Naive.

Beginning in December of 2010, uprisings began in several Arab countries. The people of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya overthrew their dictatorial regimes in the so-called Arab Spring. Because of overtures communicated even before he was elected, I think Barack Obama believed that these and other countries would embrace the US and implement western style democracies when the opportunity presented itself. Why? Because he believed that by pulling US troops out of Iraq and saying the "right" things like he did in his Cairo speech, these nations would change their anti-American sentiment. At the end of the day, these nations are becoming more unfriendly to the US.

In Syria, for nearly a year now, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has been slaughtering its own people by the thousands. Just this week, the US Embassy in Damascus was ordered closed by the State Department because of the violence. In the UN, the US has twice been unable to get a resolution passed against Syria by the Security Council because of vetoes by Russia and China. And I believe that the Obama administration was surprised by that...both times.

In Egypt, 19 Americans working with pro-democracy groups are being threatened with prosecution and may be ordered to stand trial. All the while Obama's administration is reeling because of the rapidly deteriorating relationship between our two countries. One of the affected Americans is the son of Republican Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The administration has grossly miscalculated these very complex world affairs.



Granted, these are incredibly explosive times right now. We need a president and leadership team that can quickly outgrow whatever naivete that they may have possessed. There is just too much at stake.