America’s ‘rules based order’ is the new ‘Godless Communism’

Growing up in the 50’s, government, media, schools and religion bombarded us with warnings of Russia’s ‘Godless Communism’. It was used to fuel the Cold War and it worked. Paranoia ruled America as we practiced ‘duck and cover’ in school and awaited nuclear Armageddon.

When the godless Soviet system collapsed in 1991, the Cold War appeared over, with a welcomed ‘peace dividend’ from military spending headed to uplift the homeland.

That never happened. The Military-Industrial Complex couldn’t fathom going out of business. America began marching NATO up to Russia’s borders, telling us we needed to counter a regime still determined to overrun Western Europe.

But Russia was too weak a country to justify that three quarter of a trillion military budget. So America needed a new dragon to slay. Enter Communist China, poised to overtake the U.S economy by 2028, after 138 years of U.S. dominance.

America can’t continence that dagger to our economic ego Under Obama, the U.S. made the ‘pivot’ from Russia to China. A new catchword was needed. Godless Communism no longer resonated with an increasingly secular, even non-theist society.

Voila, America coined ‘rules based order’ to justify continued Cold War with Russia and add non-rules based China to the mix. So simple, so effective. America stands for rules based democracy, January 6th DC insurrection excepted, while authoritarian Russia and China are a continued threat to this new form of American exceptionalism.

Even NATO has signed on to New Cold War against China. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns “The rise of China presents an opportunity to strengthen the trans-Atlantic military alliance. China doesn’t share our values and threatens the rules-based order.”

Ask Joe Sixpack what ‘rules based order’ means and he’ll just roll his eyes and ask for another Bud Light. But as marketing for the U.S. and now NATO war party, it’s genius.

Genitals check not required for high school girl sports

Stuck with a president suffocating pandemic, goosing the economy with stimulus for the non-wealthy, and dismantling fear and loathing of the ‘other’, the GOP is desperate for a 2022 campaign theme.

Polling shows 7% of Americans are “completely against” pro L.G.B.T.Q policies. That’s it, state Republican leaders cried, we’ll attack the Dems for wanting big muscled boys pretending to be girls, muscling their way into high school girls sports to snatch all the trophys.

Think that’s a fantasy? South Dakota may soon join Arkansas and Mississippi which passed bills preventing this imagined abomination. Two dozen other GOP controlled states are considering transgender school sports bans.

Conservative South Dakota governor and presidential hopeful Kristi Noem, mindful of how such lunacy might derail her possible 2024 run, pushed back slightly, saying the proposed ban should only apply to delicate high school girls, not female collegians.

As the father of two daughters I never worried about them competing in high school sports against a boy pretending or sincerely claiming to be a girl. That’s because thirty years ago the concept of transgenders didn’t’ exist as a societal culture war issue. Full disclosure…they played music not sports.

The GOP has lost its collective mind if they think banning transgender girls from girls’ sports is sane or winnable issue.

As an ACLU lawyer put it, “They’re acting like LeBron James is going to put on a wig and play basketball with fourth graders. And not one LeBron James, 100”.

To paraphrase Tina Turner, when it comes to GOP transgender bans, ‘What’s genitals got to do with it?’