NATO and the Ghost

As I write this, NATO leaders are meeting in Chicago, and a variety of groups are protesting in the streets. The Chicago cops are pushing people to disperse. NATO  was invented, as you may know, to hold the line in  Europe against Stalin. We were easily frightened in those days. A rumor reached us some time back that Stalin had died and was still dead and that the Soviet Union no longer existed. If that is true (and it's hard to verify, here on the rim of the Pacific) then NATO no longer serves its original purpose. It has new purposes.  NATO stands between us and the ghost of  Stalin. Also it's a key component of the Western economic system, employing many generals and constantly generating a demand for fresh ammunition.

We might get some idea of why NATO remains viable by reading  David Brooks. In his Sunday column he points out that "human depravity" is self evident. Brooks is, of course, referring to himself, and I doubt if anyone wants to argue that Mr. Smirker is not depraved. Something that is universally not doubted is what we call a certainty (by definition). Brooks' very existence explains our plight.