More Mixed Signals On Honduras

As anyone can see, the Americas encompass a very large portion of Earth's land mass, yet only the United States is referred to as simply "America". That may be because the word itself has come to be synonymous with the principles of liberty and the rule of law even though we are not alone in the adherence to such grounding basics.

Looking at the map, Honduras is located along that thin strip of land connecting North and South America, sandwiched between Guatemala to the north and Nicaragua to the south, and as the forces of socialism - egged on by people like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez - continue to ooze toward her borders, Honduras has remained true to her constitution in spite of the pressure exerted from outside influences, which include the United States.

Late last month, on June 28th, the Honduran Supreme Court ruled with the countries Congress and ultimately decided that the unlawful attempts of its president to circumvent the constitution were sufficient grounds for the military to forcefully oust Manuel Zelaya, the aforementioned president. While it would be understandable for our own government to applaud the actions of Honduran patriots, they have not only not applauded, they have booed and condemned the actions, demanding that Zelaya be returned to power in solidarity with surrounding, avowed socialist leaders, notably Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

While our own leaders here in "America" insist that the socialist Zelaya be returned to power immediately, our allegedly objective media echo the sentiments of the "world" media and refer to the bloodless ouster of Manuel Zelaya as a "military coup", perpetuating the notion that Honduras engaged in a third-world political maneuver, a depiction that is dead wrong.

And now, perhaps realizing that such a thing may be possible in virtually any one of the Americas, our State Department here in the U.S. is seeking to marginalize the legitimacy of interim President Roberto Micheletti by the revocation of diplomatic visas of his foreign diplomats. From the AP:

US revokes visas of 4 Honduran officials
The U.S. government said Tuesday it has revoked the diplomatic visas of four Honduran officials, stepping up pressure on coup-installed leaders who insist they can resist international demands to restore the ousted president.
The U.S. State Department did not name the four, but a Honduran official said they included the Supreme Court magistrate who ordered the arrest of ousted President Manuel Zelda and the president of Honduras' Congress.

I try to imagine Margaret Thatcher or Ronald Reagan reacting in similar fashion, and I simply cannot. While this current president seems more than willing to sit down to pheasant under glass with the likes of Achmedinejad in a futile attempt to smooth over whatever dispute, I have seen absolutely zero evidence of any similar diplomatic endeavor towards the patriotic actions of the Honduran political structure.

If I am alone in my puzzlement at this, I must reassess my sanity, for I simply cannot understand how a member of the Organization of American States could stand in solidarity with self-avowed socialists without being likewise cast.

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