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.
ReplyDeleteKay, I am old enough to have lived through the aftermath of a World War. There are no winners. The irony of Trump's rhetoric and policies is that the there will very possibly be a world slump in economic activity which, with an amazing irony, will probably benefit Trump's friend Putin more than anyone else. It is entirely possible that the US economy will suffer more than many from inflation.
DeleteIt'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.
ReplyDeleteEllen,another concern that I have is that he will have The Constitution altered and will become president for life.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David, for that summary of the situation. I am 80 and will probably be affected less than most in the coming years but I am truly fearful for my family and all the youngsters who have no concept of what could become of their world.
DeleteI believe that David's assessment is right, but here is where I will differ. If it were one person/one vote, trump would have lost. He has never won the popular vote. We must do away with the electoral college. I also think that there was some fuckery involved in this election. A presidential aide to Putin, last name Patrushev, gave an interview to Tass, which was quoted in November 12th edition of Newsweek that said that to win the election, tRUMP relied on certain outside influences, and that he now had corresponding obligations that he would be expected to meet. They certainly must be proud of the job he's doing for them.
DeleteYour post made me sad, Graham, because you are right too.
Thanks for that extra insight, Debby.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteJayCee, amongst my circle of friends and acquaintances, there is a real fear for our children's future especially amongst those of us who are older (but, ironically, have the least to fear).
DeleteTrump has no proper sense of history. His thinking is cartoonish. He is unable to see that through his arrogance, his simplification and his misunderstanding, he is endangering the entire planet. President Zelenskyy should have been treated like a hero in The White House but they treated him like a burglar who had been caught in the glare of the security lights.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, YP, indeed. And it's very, very scary.
DeleteAt times we feel like the weight of the world is upon our shoulders, yet we are helpless, beyond trying to ensure our politicians act honourably and with our interests at heart. Neither seems to apply to #47.
ReplyDeleteOddly, Andrew, I have always been verry matter-od-fact about world affairs because of my inability to have any effect on them. Suddenly that impotence and the realisation that I am part of The Great Impotent Majority has hit me hard.
DeleteKeep on thinking. I agree with your assessment of how the world has fallen apart.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Red.
DeleteIt will take a long time for the USA to recover from the awful reputation is now has. I think we can forget 'The Special Relationship' in the future.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Cro, absolutely!
DeleteI really don't know what to think - let alone what to say. It worries me, and I try to keep things good in my own tiny sphere of influence.
ReplyDeleteMeike, it's about all we can do isn't it?
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Graham. I'm struggling with "too much thinking" myself these days :) ... Some days (yesterday being one of them) I've been following every newscast + hours of discussion (on both radio and TV) of what was actually said and meant and where that might possibly lead in the long run. Other days I'm so tired of it all that I try to think of almost anything but. But of course as soon as one connects to the world in any way, it's all there again. One of the many aspects of it all that makes it hard to grasp I think is that in so many ways it feels like bad fiction/parody and yet one knows that it's not - and no one knows quite how to deal with that...
ReplyDeleteMonica, your last sentence encapsulates my situation very adequately.
DeleteI can't believe what I am seeing. My knowledge of history is more than rudimentary but even I can see that this is going to change the world.
ReplyDeleteThey always said 9/11 changed the world but I didn't really think it did (I mean i know it had far reaching effects) This madness will change everything irrevocably and nobody around me is talking about it.
It's just mind blowing.
David's comments above interest me, I have also thought that the voters or the system in the US must be sick and twisted to allow this man to become president
Kylie, one of the subjects that I did for my first degree was 'Political Theory and Institutions' and it was wide-ranging. The trouble with academia is that it doesn't take into account the human element and manipulation and corruption and so many other things that are part of 'real life'. Trump 'talked the good talk' to enough people in the US who wanted a charismatic leader who portrays himself as a strong leader. In fact he is an exceedingly weak 'leader' but he is very talented at knowing what a certain element in the US (and any country) want to hear. Certainly my friends in the UK are reasonably politically (with a small p) savvy and can all see the dangers that the world now faces. Many youngsters, though, have no real concept of what war means for them. Those of us who can remember very vividly the remnants of war in this country, and those who have escaped war in other countries, realise just how much peace should be valued and not taken for granted.
DeleteHow valuable a demagogue can be to lead people into self-harm, and harm to others. A demagogue can divide and weaken a population sufficiently to lay it open to manipulation by people who do not have its interests at heart. I seem to see similarities between Johnson and Trump - both vain, weak lazy demagogues elected by tiny margins to lead influential and wealthy democracies (and both unwittingly aided by dim Oppositions who didn't know how to oppose them) and both pursuing damaging deologies that weaken and reduce the wealth and influence of the countries they lead. Of course Britain is far weaker and poorer than America, but let's not forget how we have damaged European unity and reduced our own wealth and standing in the world by letting Johnson carelessly lead us into the slovenly, ill planned mess of Brexit . I don't know what will resulting for America falling for Trump, but we can all decide for ourselves who stands to gain most from the resulting dramatic weakening, fragmenting and impoverishment of democracy as a political system .
ReplyDeleteThank you for that very insightful comment and outlook on the situation in which we now find ourselves. Apologies for my delay in responding. I've been away.
DeleteIt is scary thinking about the world's predicament at the moment.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I find 'scary' an understatement and even since I wrote this post things seem to have gone from bad to worse.
DeleteWonderful (well, not wonderful but spot-on) dissertation from you. I worry not for myself as I, too, will be gone, but worry for my adult children and am happy that there are no grandchildren to worry about. Life will be rough in just a short amount of time.
ReplyDelete