Boys will be boy leaders

Leonardo da Vinci once said, "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough ... we must do." And those who do can do much. Little is more impressive than how one person -- a single human being -- can influence the course of events that shape history for good or ill. The South might have won but for Lincoln. WWII would not have occurred but for Hitler. When historians speak of nations, they really speak of individuals. When they speak of state actions, they really speak of human decisions. Although these sovereigns are usually endowed with royalty or other accoutrements of power, all are captive to human frailty. Unfortunately, that has meant (as history has repeatedly shown) boys will be boys. North Korea's Kim Jong Un is the latest living example. The Dear Leader ok'ed the launch of a three-stage rocket ostensibly to put a weather satellite into orbit -- despite knowing the action would abrogate a food aid agreement with the U.S. Minutes after blast-off, the rocket exploded, broke into four pieces, and crashed into the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula. In short, it was a Total Epic Fail. The White House promptly signaled the boy leader that he could kiss 240,000 metric tons of food aid goodbye. So why did His Righteous Benevolence do it? Simply to demonstrate that he too has cool toys, even if they explode or when brought out to the playground could trigger World War III. One wonders how human civilization has managed to survive this long.