America: A Cautionary Tale

[cilla4progress]

I wonder what people around the world - where at one time, for a long time, America was viewed as "the shining city on a hill," beacon of democracy, a place where anyone could grow up to be President (regretting that now!), with a large, solvent, and mobile middle-class, leader of the world in terms of power and also morality, with a free press and freedom of religion - a Bill of Rights, a Constitution, public education... are thinking now?

Aside from the devastation we anticipate here if the great orange one wins in November, what does it say to aspiring people around the world about how this goes? About how democracy goes? What does it do to their hopes and dreams and visions of aspiration? Hell, what do they aspire to, now...should the great experiment of America fail?

And who, or what, is at fault? Undoubtedly, at its root, filthy mammon. Capitalism run amok. Greed and avarice rewarded, never held to account. A corporate "free" press. A judiciary seduced. Legislatures fed and nursed on dollars from influence-buyers.

So, what do these people around the world think now? To what do they aspire? I am going to suggest that regardless of the election outcome in November, America, with its promotion and support of Trump as one of the 2 parties' national candidates, his actual competitiveness in the election, has already lost its leadership position in the world. Developing countries will look elsewhere - Canada would be a terrific example. Maybe that will turn out to be a good thing. Maybe in a secondary role we can retrench, get our act together, let go of the ego ride of trying to always be at the forefront.

Sad, but maybe a turning point that will head us back on the right path. We can only hope.

[villager]

1. It was always only a question of a soft landing or a hard landing, "post-Empire" for us

Being the world's biggest cop/extractor/militarist, etc., was always unsustainable.

So Trump represents a certain kind of "aftermath" for all that.

Hopefully that path can be avoided. For now, at least. One wonders about the elections ahead.

[cilla4progress]

2. Awesome insight.

Thanks.

[villager]

3. I am actually riffing off a column by now-retired essayist Michael Ventura

...who wrote the great "Letters at 3 a.m." (You could start Googling around).

He wrote something similar about the first Clinton, versus the Republicans.

And with all the issues about that Clinton, even then, you could see, he wrote, it was going to come down to how soft or hard a landing the Empire would have, once it was all over...

That would be real "choice."