I'm not, by nature, a worrier nor do I usually concern myself with national or international events which I have absolutely no ability to influence. Noone in their right mind would suggest that I, or any other 'ordinary' individual in the UK or probably the world, could influence the potential for an escalation towards another war in Europe arising from the unbelievable actions of one of the most powerful countries in the world. Indeed, many are wondering whether even national and international leaders in Europe have that power either.
What, even a few years ago, seemed unthinkable is now being talked about as a distinct possibility if not quite a probability.
The leader of the US of A keeps telling us that he wants to 'make America great again'. America was already great. I don't know anyone who disputed that.
However what the current President has done is make the world a very much less safe place. Isolationism and bullying never brings true power. It brings the power of fear and tyranny. That is not TRUE power. It may be the power on which empires were built in the past. Today it simply gives the Putins of this world the go-ahead to do what they like. Today's Europe has been built on the assumption of peace. It would appear that that may have been a mistake.
Effective world power today is wielded by economic not military might. Today many nations have the physical power and means to control and even to destroy other nations with ease. Any such action would however only produce pyrrhic victories.
In the past nations could become rich and benefit their countries by those means.
The world is too small for that now. The ramifications and the fallout from any nuclear threat or use would simply be too catastrophic to contemplate. Exercise of that power would benefit noone except, possibly and temporarily, some of the world's dictators. And they will be dead by the time the worst of the economic damage manifests itself.
So will I.
Oh Graham, it is so hard to think about what transpired in the Oval Office this past Friday. As an American, I can only say that it was painful to watch. I shouldn't be surprised though; Trump and his cronies are like that. Also, I would like to point out that although Trump won the election, there are MILLIONS of Americans who did not vote for him. It saddens me to see a lot on social media condemning all Americans due to his actions. Did you see the part where the journalist asked him if he owned a suit? THAT man is the boyfriend of Majorie Taylor Greene, a representative from Georgia (my state, as you know). Trump is putting all his influence and power to get her elected as one of our Senators! If you question any actions of the current President, you are accused of "Trump Derangement Syndrome". I am not kidding. Remember the expression "wiser heads prevailed"? That is not happening these days.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible, isn't it, Graham? America was never great - not for everyone. The current president is just making it worse and he is only in it for power and money for himself. I'm hoping his control ends soon but it's frightening to see.
ReplyDeleteI don't think America was ever great. It was rich and powerful, but it was not great. Did you ever travel through the country during the Jim Crow era? As for people condemning all Americans in the comment from Kay G. above, it is a little disingenuous at best. For years the United States proselytized to the world. Be like us they said, adopt our values, embrace the free market, follow our system of government, everything we do is better than everyone else. They talked of American exceptionalism, an oxymoron if ever there was one. I will state with confidence that had Trump been defeated, people would have claimed a victory for the system, evidence that it worked. Now they say, "We didn't all vote for him," and that misses the point that they elected him in a fair and democratic election under the very system they claimed as superior to all others. There was never one scintilla of doubt about what Trump stood for. He campaigned on it, and there were four years of prior experience of him as president to draw on. The voters knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were electing a racist, misogynist liar, a person who favoured dictators, someone who disdained NATO and said he would encourage the invader of a NATO ally to do "whatever they wanted" if that country had not paid its dues according to his standards. I could go on, but the point is made. Today in Canada, we are dealing with tariffs and the threat of annexation. Thanks America for this gift to the world. You have no one to blame but yourselves. But we didn't ask for it and the consequences of your folly are being foisted on all of us.
ReplyDeleteI do remember as a child growing up in the 50s, 60s and early 70s, the perceived threat of nuclear war often being discussed, although I was too young to really understand it. It was just a sort of vague, dark menacing threat in the background. I now feel that fear today as being quite real. It is very disturbing that so many others are dismissing it as an irrelevance.
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