Jamestown Post-Journal

An Achievement For Preemptive Diplomacy

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 23, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDEr

Preemptive war has always been a bad idea. Those who start wars usually end up losing them. Yet, it is possible that preemptive diplomacy might help end this most recent one–Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

I am not sure who should get the credit but I have to believe that the American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, was deeply involved in the decision by the United States to warn the world days and weeks before it began–that the Russians were coming.

Those days and weeks of putting the world on notice laid the basis for the near universal condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine when it finally happened.

I don’t know much about Tony Blinken, but I like his demeanor. He is soft-spoken, hard-working and does his best to stay out of the limelight. He reminds me a bit of Dean Rusk, Secretary of State for President John F. Kennedy. Rusk was the same way. He was not a “glory hound” who made bombastic statements. When he spoke, his words meant something.

Blinken recently met with reporters from a group of local news outlets in Washington and said this: “One of the principles that we’ve been inspired by, animated by, is that when we’re not engaged in the world, when the United States is not leading at the table in the room, then one or two things [can happen:] either someone else is and doing things in a way that may not actually advance the interests of the American people and the values that we hold, or maybe no one is, and then you have vacuums and chaos–and that has a way of coming back and biting us.”

If ever there was a lesson that we should have learned from World War II, this is it. The United States as still the strongest democracy in the world cannot just stand by and let world affairs spin out of control. We need to stay engaged, working with our allies and always be vigilant for those who want to turn the world back through dictatorship and war.

When I listened to the words coming from the White House and State Department prior to the Russian invasion, it made me think that we were seeing, in a sense, a new and aggressive form of diplomacy. The United States wasn’t waiting to just react to Russian aggression–it was warning the world of what was likely coming and preparing it for worst. I think it was that preemptive approach that prepared the Western world (those nations that believe in democracy and the rule of law) for the common decision to support Ukraine against the aggressor.

Maybe it was the botched effort at leaving Afghanistan which paved the way for this. Perhaps it took some time for the Biden administration to regroup after that. But this time, I believe, they got it right. Now that the world has seen what unprovoked war can do with millions of refugees fleeing from destruction and an underdog nation fighting back–democracies around the world have become unified in support of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has made his bed and must now lie in it. His own preemptive war is what caused it. Preemptive diplomacy is what has blunted it. How it will all turn out, we don’t know. Yet, let us hope that civilization can dig out from under this latest assault on human rights and find a way back from the brink.

 

 

 The Post-Journal

Building A New Stadium For The Bills

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 16, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

There has been a lot of hoopla about whether or not to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Western New York. I say “hoopla” because not to build it would be a great disservice and be a negative for our region.

Whether or not you are a football fan, the fact that we have in this small-market area two national professional sports teams, the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills, is a “feather-in-our cap,” a “drawing card” if you will, and is one of the reasons we all like living here. If we didn’t have them, there would be an empty hole in our common life and in our appreciation for this region we live in.

We are also fortunate that we have a deep financial pocket in the Pegula family which has its roots in the Olean area. They could have taken all of their money from a big natural gas deal over a decade ago, and “squirreled” it away in some hedge fund or in guaranteed government bonds. Instead, they invested a lot of it here in Western New York in these two professional sports teams.

I, for one, am glad they did. Without their commitment, it is quite possible that we could have lost both teams. In both situations, the Sabres and Bills, government involvement in financing the stadiums they play in has always been a part of the equation. Without it, neither team would have either been started here or stayed here.

I remember when the current Bill’s stadium was first-built. There was a lot of controversy. A good friend, Dick Keane (now deceased,) was involved then as Chairman of the Erie County Legislature. He told me a lot of good stories on how the deal got done, including a confrontation that he had with then Lawyer John Connally, former Governor of Texas, who was representing a group that wanted a dome stadium in another location. When the dust settled, we had instead a new, beautiful, open-air stadium in Orchard Park which we have enjoyed for many years.

We are now going to have another new, beautiful stadium in Orchard Park. If this were being done in New York City, nothing would be said. Whether it has been the New Penn Station, Yankee Stadium, new airports, big convention centers or rebuilding subways–the state legislature has always taken the steps necessary to get things done in the “Big Apple.”

Now, it is our turn to get the Bills Stadium deal done here in Upstate. Sure, it is expensive. Anything the NFL touches is expensive.

Though there are many things we don’t like about being a distant Upstate cousin in a state dominated by New York City and its suburbs–one thing that they do bring to the table is the financial depth and ability to assist a place like Western New York when it comes to keeping an NFL team located here.

Good for Governor Hochul for reminding those who dominate the marble halls of Albany, that Western New York still exists and needs and wants this stadium built. For those who live below the Tappan Zee Bridge, there is an added bonus–it gives them the chance to send the New York Jets (who now play in New Jersey) out here on an annual basis so that they can actually play one game a year within the confines of the state which bears their name.

So, get over it, New York. Investing to keep the Bills in Buffalo is a good thing. Go Bills!

 

 The Post-Journal

The Peril Of Having ‘Yes Men’

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 2, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

 One of the perils of life that I have observed over the years is that people in positions of power tend to surround themselves with “yes-men.” Of course, this can also include women but the problem is the same–if your surround yourself only with people who agree with you, then you never hear the other side of the story.

This is what happens often with dictators, and it is what happened to Vladimir Putin. He has always wanted to invade Ukraine and restore the old Soviet Union, so he surrounded himself with people who would support that narrative. Now we see the result.

As you study American history, you can see that the best Presidents were those who surrounded themselves with people who were strong, who stood up for the truth, and who would tell a powerful President what they really believed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did this but probably the greatest example was Abraham Lincoln. A book about Lincoln’s Cabinet is titled Team of Rivals. Lincoln put people in high places in his administration not only who disagreed with him but who had run against him–William Seward probably being the best example.

The “yes-man” problem is not only a problem in government. It can happen in business or in other areas of life. Someone gets rich, thinks he is the smartest guy in town and surrounds himself with “yes-men.”

History is replete with business leaders who have “gone down the tubes” believing their own press releases and listening only to what they want to hear.

Winston Churchill once said: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Dispute and political haggling are always a problem with democracies, but the alternative is usually a one-man system (dictatorship) full of worshipping and adoring “yes-men.” When that happens, you get no honest or truthful information–only the one-way communication of the weak and conniving.

So, this gets us back to what happened in Russia with Vladimir Putin. He didn’t expect that Ukrainians would put up any meaningful resistance when he invaded. His “guts” and personal views were that Ukraine would be crushed, would quickly fold, and that he would take control of the country. He surrounded himself with people to back up that view. Now he is stuck in a quagmire in Ukraine with thousands of his troops (including up to 7 generals) having been killed.

Usually, people in power who get themselves into this kind of mess will have things fixed so that others will “fall on their sword” to take the blame. There has already been a report that a Russian intelligence chief is under house arrest. The sycophants and “yes-men” will now become the scapegoats.

The bottom line is that though we may find disagreement and differing viewpoints to be unsavory and “hard to swallow,” it is still better than having a “yes-man” operation running the show. I am sure that Joe Biden would rather not have to deal with dissident Democrats or criticizing Republicans on Capitol Hill. But, he and we are better served because our democracy is structured to bring dissident voices and variant opinions into the arena of public policy making.

Churchill was right. Despite all of its shortcomings, democracy is still the best choice that mankind has found as a means to govern itself.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.