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Is War Ever “Small Potatoes?”

Is War Ever “Small Potatoes?”

Last updated on: September 16, 2026 at 2:59 pm by Roger E. Olson

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Is War Ever “Small Potatoes?” 2026-09-16T14:59:33-05:00 Roger E. Olson

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I wasn’t really surprised when President Trump said that the war with Iran (2026) is “small potatoes.” That at the same time some of his closest political allies were saying it isn’t really a war at all. I suspect that both claims are motivated by a desire to minimize the conflict in Americans’ minds. What if American loses this one? If so, well, we didn’t lose a war, did we? Or, Oh, well, that was only small potatoes anyway.

No war or military conflict is “small potatoes.” A good country, a Godly country, goes out of its way to avoid military conflicts. Just war has rules. One is that no justified war can be preemptive. Another is that the goal of such conflict or war must be peace.

Once, again, however, I lured you into read this with a “hooking” headline. It’s not really just about that one offensive and obnoxious statement of Trump’s. It’s about Trump, again. And why? Because all right-thinking people, religious and non religious, must be sickened by Trump’s and his cronies’ actions and words.

Recently Trump declared at a Republican Party convention that anyone who doesn’t vote for him, by which he meant for Republicans in the upcoming midterm election, is going to hell. Who can not be shocked by such a claim? And yet, I suspect many people are not shocked because they have become jaded to Trump’s rhetoric. Their attitude is “Well, you know, he doesn’t really mean what he says.” But what if he does?

Of course, Trump knows he cannot consign people to hell and that people who don’t vote for him are not thereby automatically consigned to hell. So why say such an outrageous thing? Because he wants to build himself up in people’s minds as having great power and that loyalty to him is actually a spiritual virtue the lack of which is evil.

Also, and I could go on and on, Trump has called the fears about Artificial Intelligence “a hoax.” He said something like that about COVID 19. All the leading AI experts are warning about the future of AI and calling for “guard rails” and limits on it. Some are even arguing that only governments, America’s and China’s, for example, can prevent a catastrophe arising from AI.

It’s one thing to ask for further research into AI to discover whether or not the fears are legitimate. It’s something else entirely and even stupid to call them a hoax, given who are saying the fears are legitimate.

Why does Trump call the fears and warnings about AI a hoax? Is it because he wants to be the decider about such things? Is it because the fears and warnings sound like the fears and warnings about future ecological catastrophe and he has set himself against any hindrances placed on big businesses such as oil and gas exploration? Or is it just because he wants to get headlines and mention on news reports? Does he know that his base will just agree with him no matter what?

Recently Trump’s allies in the Federal Communications Commission pressured ABC network not to broadcast a talk show interview with Democratic senate candidate James Talarico. The same talk show hosted Republican candidates and even Trump himself—twice! That was, many fear, a blatant act of censorship.

I have asked here before and I ask it again: What would Trump have to do for you—a Trump supporter—to stop supporting Trump? Don’t say only if he converted to liberalism. Stopping short of completely throwing away his avowed political beliefs and policies, what would he have to do for you to stop supporting him? Hasn’t he does enough already? What would it take?

So far, no Trump supporter has answered that question here. A few think they have answered it, but their “answers” were really not answers at all but diatribes against “never Trumpers.” Or against Democrats and the Democratic Party. I won’t post non-answers here.

*Note: If you choose to comment, make sure your comment is relatively brief (not more than 100 words), on topic, addressed to me, civil and respectful (not hostile or argumentative), and devoid of pictures or links.*

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