Many years ago, I had a girlfriend

[gratuitous]

She was, to put it bluntly, out of my league, and a bit of a drama addict. That meant I played the hero in the relationship for about three years. If she was unhappy, it was my job to make her happy. If she was unhappy with me, I got about the business of changing that to suit her. (Many years later, it's not all for the worse; I'm pretty conscientious around the house, which my wife appreciates and attributes to my mother. I'm not stupid enough to tell her otherwise.)

Anyway, one of the things I noticed during the course of the relationship is that a number of my friends began to distance themselves from me. Later on, I figured out that it was because I was changing and compromising myself for the sake of the relationship, and my friends didn't like to see me do that. So they pulled back.

All of which is to say that the other nations of the world are distancing themselves from the United States. Not because we have a hot girlfriend, but because the country has undergone radical changes to suit a very small, petty man who somehow became our president. I'm looking forward to the break-up.

[PatSeg]

1. Excellent analogy

One that many people can relate to I think.

[DemocracyMouse]

2. Such a good insght.

The analogy is apt, except that Trump is hot like radiation, not like Paul Newman...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Continuing your analogy, perhaps we will change laws afterwards for the better.

Like reveal tax returns if you take even a penny contribution from any source, cash or in kind.

Like no lying in state for felons or convicted in the Senate.

Like put all income-earning assets, stocks, and businesses into a court appointed trustee rather than family.

Like national standards for vote systems, counting, security, and auditing. Verifiable paper ballots.

Like national simplified registration for voting, including on the day of.

I could go on before even getting into restoration of Obama's advances.

[pazzyanne]

4. I would vote for those!

[fierywoman]

8. YES !!!

[47of74]

9. Plus make voter suppression and electoral fraud

Punishable by life imprisonment at the least. And on days when I’m in a bad mood I think it should be eligible for the death penalty.

Remove the except as punishment for a crime exception to the 13th Amendment and make slavery absolutely forbidden with violations punishable by death.

Make the right to vote absolute for all US citizens over the age of 16. No exceptions whatsoever.

And make it the affirmative duty on pain of imprisonment of every government employee to help citizens vote.

I wanted these even before fuck face took over.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. Not a psychology buzzword type of person but

It's the world removing themselves from our 'co-dependency'.

I can't say that I blame them.

And - glad you 'dodged that bullet'. That's no way to live.

[llmart]

7. I see it more as...

the world is deciding to move on regardless of how non-progressive we've become at this point in time. The US used to pride themselves on being first and foremost in moving forward and new ways of thinking, etc. but we are somehow stuck in the past. We are now the laggers, not the leaders, especially with regard to climate change.

[packman]

6. I know that experience - I was seeing a girl for years

Then she got curtains for her house and that ended that.

[Cosmocat]

10. It isn't about 45 ...

When I was abroad or talked to people from other countries during Ws tenure, they said they didn't get it, but every single one said we would be back, they had faith in us.

They felt it was a flight of fancy, and while he was flaming moron, he at least conducted himself with the customary amount of decorum, and at his heart was not a mean spirited person.

They still believed in us.

This is our second strike, and a M A S S I V E turn far past what we had with W. There is not a clear pattern of our country putting right wing loons into not only the white house, but in power in congress, and we keep getting further and further from reason - they saw the way BHO was treated generally, one example being the letter that the republicans in the senate sent to Iraq trying to undermine BHO's efforts to get that deal done.

They see that this is in fact who WE are ... They see the truth - we didn't change to suit 45, 45 is a reflection of what we are now.

Small and petty.

We have, for no good reason, just up and ceded our moral authority, and position as the world leader.