In lectures I take from a Connecticut based History Prof (Jared Day), its been stated several times America leadership stems from the grand bargain of Bretton Woods conference of 1944. In return for the USD being the currency of global trade along with free and open markets (Britain kicked and screamed to keep the commonwealth as closed market but in the end had to cave) and in return the US provided security for global trade. The US was in a position of strength.....the end of WWII could be seen....US had over 50% of world GDP....most powerful Navy........and a Nation not gutted by WW II (as opposed to most of Europe and Russia). Then the Marshall Plan of 1948-51 kicked in and 16 Nation received $$$ from the US, even non-belligerents (Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland).... Stalin thought it was a scam and didn't allow eastern block countries to participate. Those countries accepting US largess had recovered to pre WWII prosperity by beginning of 1950's...while the Eastern Block countries wallowed until the implosion of Communism in 1990. Yes U.S. business benefitted also.....
I mean, they did. They literally chose to lead the free world that they created via trade and NATO.
They don’t have to continue leading it, but it’s just ahistoric folly to claim that leadership of the world just happened to fall to them like drawing lots.
Choosing to do something doesn't entail the permanent duty to do it. The end of the USSR and America's return to being an energy exporter changed the world. Telling them it's their duty to carry on protecting us now and forever is weak and undignified. Having a temper tantrum and hooking up with China out of spite is even worse.
We need to start solving our own problems, with dignity and courage.
I watched and listened to the podcast and I was telling you (using headphones it is not at all loud when I talk back) that, yes, the US has had the role of the world's policeman but it has been my observation for many years that they didn't particularly want it. Further, the world has been arguing against that role. Well, the world argued against that role but they sure kept their own contributions to that role pretty damned small while saying they were against the US filling that role but expecting the US to step up once again.
[Contradictory note to above assertion: DJT and Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, etc., etc..]
I would note that whenever something goes wrong in the world, said world looks to the US to assist, fix, lead, etc. [Notwithstanding, of course, the world's arguments against the US, as above.] In the US, for many years the typical response to the television pictures of whatever tragedy or situation was "Well, jeez, someone [subtext: the US] just oughta do somethin' ..." but they didn't really want the consequences.
Going back to the founding of the Republic there has been a terrifically strong isolationist streak in the US which has increased dramatically in the last few decades as the role of "world policeman" has yielded no benefit, only expenditures of lives and treasure and increasing world opprobrium. The result has been much less interest in that role within the US.
So, I don't blame the US if they choose to NOT be that policeman but I do suggest a bit more coherence in the strategy. Although, coherence is not necessarily a strength currently.
Your comment makes me wonder if perhaps the complainers in May countries who were unhappy with US decisions have collectively made the Us less willing to lead or assist. Or if maybe the history of the time between WW1 and WW2 is jus too far away now and most people simply don’t know about the economic conditions which led to the US becoming a leader in the post WW2 period.
There’s an expression. Strong men make easy times, easy times build weak men, weak men make hard times, hard times build strong men. But perhaps this expression applies to countries and economies as well.
Perhaps the riches the US has enjoyed are connected to its willingness to deal with hard times. If they do step out and leave a void, imagine if China or Russia moved into that void with their communist and authoritarian ways. Imagine if the USD was no longer the main world currency. I think the US has been dominant for so long that nobody in the US could imagine that outcome. And yet I think in another 10-20 years that’s maybe not such a crazy idea.
I absolutely agree that folks in many countries have lost sight (and memory and even, thought) of WWII and what they almost lost and which was saved by their own heroism but also very much by the involvement of the Americans. Many of those same countries also give no thought to the massive amounts that the US paid to assist in rebuilding those ruined countries.
Just as seriously, the US populace has forgotten the lessons of the war and that hard times need hard decisions. Your expression about strong and weak men is one that I have previously heard and to which I subscribe fully.
Personally, I think that the US dominance even at this date is predicated a lot by the fact that the USD is the world reserve currency. China has been trying to change that, to little success thus far. Now, given that the US has moved Venezuela from China's orbit and seems about to make Iranian oil sales to China a thing of the past, that seems to leave Russian supplies to China. Given China's overall strength compared to Russia I wonder about a greater use of the yuan in the oil trade with a consequent potential move to lessening the use of the USD as a reserve currency, something that would be highly significant for the US.
As for Canada? Canada is far beyond the concept of hard decisions and simply cannot conceive of the coming hard times. I say "coming hard times" because I look at Canada's massive and increasing indebtedness and inability to avoid increasing that debt and the increasing foreign influence in Canadian politics so I expect a day of reckoning much more sooner than later.
I also have concerns about the deficits and that a day of reckoning will come. Sadly, I have a feeling that by the time it lands it is going to land on a generation that lacks the skills to remedy it quickly. I see so many young adults who are quick to externalize and blame others for hardship but don’t stop to ask what they could do differently. I think we’re to the point where one person or group can’t fix it, but perhaps enough people getting their own affairs in order will contribute and eventually things will improve? I don’t know. I’m pretty disillusioned with the education system overall and think that for all the people getting arts degrees, that isn’t going to be what helps Canada.
IS, you are, to my mind, a complete optimist if you think that you can change the attitude of the populace - of any age! I contend that the population at large thinks that the government actually does provide free stuff and, accordingly, the government is the "solution" for many.
That is a large reason (not at all the only one) that I am a separatist. If we can get our new country on the direction of paying it's own way and emphasizing those things in our new country it is possible (I hope!) that the example might be taken by the populace. Above all, however, I want government to be honest about the (non) free stuff.
As for Canada, I believe that it is irretrievably lost.
I keep reminding myself to look at the situation from the perspective of what this means to us as Canadians. And you too keep to that lane, which I appreciate. None of us, and nor do most average Americans, have any control over where the US will land post-Trump. What do we have control over is how we reframe ourselves in a post-Trump world where all the norms we've had for the last 80 or so years are soft at best, upsidedown in truth.
As you say, we need to figure ourselves out and do all the things a grown-ass country should have been doing but didn't have to do because of our proximity to the US - reorganize and reequip our military, realign our trade and our trading partners, strip out of our policy all the unnecessary bits and leave the important ones... and therein lies the crunch for us. What exactly does that look like?
By virtue of the great moats around us - Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans - and by virtue of being besties with France and the UK first, the US laterly, we haven't been forced to really build a nation where natural trade-offs are required. And we're now forced into that space, and man are we pissed about it! Questions like: can we keep supply management and import French butter? Can we add value to wood and minerals, oil and natural gas instead of just exporting the raw materials and buying them back in finished goods? Do we have the gumption (yes, I'm using that word too) to support our own start-ups and buy at home or do we need the "brand certainty" (such as it is) of large multi-national companies who don't employ one damn Canadian? Such questions, and so many more, are ours and ours alone to decide. It's in these trenches that we may very well let ourselves down.
I've been saying all along, Trump is not always wrong. His execution sucks, and he's racist and mysogenist to boot, but he was right to call us out on military spending. On trade. On immigration. On productivity. And we should be pulling our own weight in a multitude of different ways that would be good for us in the long run.
The question is: Can we get over ourselves, over our own sanctimony, and act in our own best interests? Drop inter-provincial trade barriers, support Canadian ingenuity, still act with reasonable values and make pragmatic choices at the same time? Effect appropriate boundaries around trade with partners who aren't in line with values like intellectual property or human rights and forced labour etc...Time will tell.
And then, once the dust settles and the world order is more apparent, only then will we be able to figure out our place in it as an effective middle power, with any luck. But first, we've got to clean our own house. Welcome spring!
As we are in the age of "immediate gratification" I think it's important to note that it took decades to get into this shape. It's going to take time to get out. We must relearn patience. And, the government is not the actor here... all they can do is set a path and clear some space... and I'm iffy about that part. Again, time will tell. I do think there is a role for hope here, and that's where I try to live. Pragmatic hope. Cheers.
Meanwhile young people in Canada the data shows are increasingly saying "Canada isn't worth it" and are leaving.
Canada doesn't have decades to get out of this mess. It isn't impatience, it's the reality of the situation. We can't afford yet another "lost generation."
Canada hasn't even pulled up out of the nosedive yet let alone levelled out started to climb back up.
Canadians are lazy. We have allowed our best minds, entrepreneurs, cultural talent and athletes to head south because we are too fucking lazy to do the hard work to appreciate their talents in Canada.
I don’t believe Canadians are innately lazy. There are enough of them that work hard and produce stuff that allow support an ever growing segment of underperforming entitlement hounds. The issue is that over time the central government and their civil service minions have encouraged the supported to rely for their living on entitlements - the source of their power A-and to be proud of this rather than feel ashamed which is how things used to be when honest workers were valued and not considered stupid by their comrades in the lobster trap.
If Canadians want to make this choice then they deserve the consequences. What I find appalling is the future unborn generations who will be saddled with the cost of this system and who as a result will be enslaved by countries provident enough to save rather than borrow. A certain large oriental country being currently kowtowed to by the chief Canuck springs to mind.
Not so much lazy IMHO as the elite in Canada don't lead well when it comes to ambition, work ethic, grit, etc.
It doesn't help that most 1%ers I know have one foot out the door with a 2nd passport and/or property outside Canada. They aren't invested in Canada like American elites are in America.
I rarely disagree with Jen, but this on this occasion I have a couple of comments.
Firstly, Donald Trump is not a conservative. He is barely a Republican. So, respectfully, many principled conservatives may support some of President Trumps's actions, but most do not. That is a point worth remembering. Marco Rubio is a solid conservative who works in the Administration and has kept his principles intact. He does not support the tariffs, the abandonment of NATO, or the kid gloves displayed with Putin, for example.
Secondly, American Exceptionalism is based on the establishment of the sole Nation on Earth that acknowledges citizens hold foundational, "inalienable rights" that were granted by the creator, and not subject to the whims of man or his courts. It is not a function of wealth or political influence or military power; if America were the poorest, weakest Nation on Earth, she would still be exceptional for this reason. America is exceptional precisely because it is unique in this regard.
Thirdly, President Trump is not going to abandon NATO. He is throwing a first salvo- a shot across the bow- to the same timorous popinjay "allies" who want Ukraine defended, Iran defeated, China contained, and the world to work for them, without the so-called "allies" committing the necessary effort or resources to make it happen. Like his criticism of Canada, which Jen covered quite well, it is time for a great number of freeloaders to step up and contribute to all that carrying of water America has performed for them.
Yes President Trump is as much a conservative as Premier Doug Ford. Shameless opportunism is their hallmark. The same as many other politicians who would have great difficulty being successful by actually producing something that makes others’ lives better.
And I agree the “unalienable rights” aspect of the US is what makes it unique and yes great compared to most of the rest of the world. Power flows from the people to the “governors” rather than the other was around. I was born a British subject and became an American late in life. Now I can die a free man and walk tall and proud in the meantime.
The current strategic actions might be "offensive", but the war itself is "defensive.
This war was NOT started by the USA, but rather by Iran in 1979, and its, and its Proxies' actions ever since. "Death to Israel and Death to America" has been their decades-long battle cry resulting in repeated hostilities and murderous actions against both. Should they have sat idly by waiting for Iran's imminent Nuclear warheads?
I think that’s a bit too far along the slippery slope to actually be a realistic argument right now. The US isn’t claiming they were attacked and need Allie’s to come to their defense.
The US is gone. Until it proves otherwise, it is a GOP-enabled Trump dictatorship. Its leader is a child rapist and a traitor. So they've pretty much hit rock bottom and started to dig. Their word on everything means nothing. They're no different from Russia. All those "safeguards" the Founders thought they wrote into the Constitution are gone. NORAD will continue forever because the US would merrily ignore the border to ensure that nothing bad falls on its own territory.
The Democrats appear unfocused and as deer-in-the-headlights as ever, completely unable to rise to the occasion. I see no reason to believe the midterms will be normal, although even some Republicans might be pissed off to vote against $5 gas.
The great American democratic experiment lasted 250 years. It's over. It was sold to the highest bidder. The Constitution needs to be rewritten. I don't see anyone trusting the US again in my lifetime. They have several generations of damage to undo before they can start over.....assuming they get the GOP out....a 50/50 proposition at best. They chose this. Only they can fix it. We'll figure it out, but it will be ugly, as our leadership doesn't appear ready to meet the moment with anything but words.
How many people of varied political views who are US citizens do you know? I think this is a worst case scenario view and doesn’t reflect what’s broadly happening in the US. My sample size is admittedly small, but I interact with close to 100 Americans every week, of varied walks of life and political beliefs. Some do raise concerns like you. But most of the don’t.
I have no predictions about midterms. People are biased by their own political beliefs when they talk about midterm results. I suspect democrats take back at least the house but maybe the senate too. And by the time we hit 2027 we’ll be hearing more rumours about the Democrat leadership race and maybe by then they’ll have a coherent plan that isn’t so extremist. (Kamala was extremist IMO. But if newsom puts his hat in the ring, oh boy look out.)
I think the constitution is fine. But the people themselves are no longer educated broadly enough for either the politicians or the voters to be informed about things. Sadly I expect that to become worse everywhere with AI and short form content. So it may mean a lot of bad things on the way for societies across many countries.
I tend to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I think if the midterms are even remotely free and fair, the GOP will be slaughtered. I hope to be wrong on all my opinions about the future of the US, but dictators don't give up easily. And this one is fully entrenched. But I'm quite certain it will take decades to undo the damage Trump has done in 15 months.
I think it’s clear they want the same benefits of having been the leader, but without having to continue doing the things that led others to look to them that way. They seem confused that acting differently is leading people to treat them with less respect than when they acted in a way others admired.
Jen I love your term about Canadians lacking “internal resilience”. That is the one of the best Canadian ways of saying “cojones” that I have heard in a long time. (Matt can translate). The last good one I heard was from the Canadian Chief of Staff (?) years ago referring to one of his officers (?) lacking “ moral fiber”.
Such wide ranging acknowledgments. Canadian defence underspending. The costs of exceptionalism. I think there’s a life cycle arc to this. Where the benefits are so long standing as to become invisible whereas the costs are very present.
“Symbolic measures”. Canadians like leading the world in various matters and when it comes to “symbolic measures” in the last 50 years Canada has had no competition as the world leader.
My ancestors lived in, and reacted to, the world that the Russian Tsar made. Violent revolution forced them to make a choice; an unknown and untested Bolshevik world or life in the west, also somewhat unknown but well-tested. Two (3 and 4)generations later, I and my children and grandchildren live in and react to the world that America has made. It has been a good and benevolent world for the most part. But I'm not sure we can easily ride out a turn of 'the cycle' wherein the death of Pax Americana leads to an equally benevolent (hopefully) new world order.
We pray for calmer spirits and cooler heads to prevail in the present.
In lectures I take from a Connecticut based History Prof (Jared Day), its been stated several times America leadership stems from the grand bargain of Bretton Woods conference of 1944. In return for the USD being the currency of global trade along with free and open markets (Britain kicked and screamed to keep the commonwealth as closed market but in the end had to cave) and in return the US provided security for global trade. The US was in a position of strength.....the end of WWII could be seen....US had over 50% of world GDP....most powerful Navy........and a Nation not gutted by WW II (as opposed to most of Europe and Russia). Then the Marshall Plan of 1948-51 kicked in and 16 Nation received $$$ from the US, even non-belligerents (Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland).... Stalin thought it was a scam and didn't allow eastern block countries to participate. Those countries accepting US largess had recovered to pre WWII prosperity by beginning of 1950's...while the Eastern Block countries wallowed until the implosion of Communism in 1990. Yes U.S. business benefitted also.....
What gave the Americans the "duty" to lead "the free world"? If they had that duty, what duty did the rest of us have? Have we fulfilled it?
I mean, they did. They literally chose to lead the free world that they created via trade and NATO.
They don’t have to continue leading it, but it’s just ahistoric folly to claim that leadership of the world just happened to fall to them like drawing lots.
Choosing to do something doesn't entail the permanent duty to do it. The end of the USSR and America's return to being an energy exporter changed the world. Telling them it's their duty to carry on protecting us now and forever is weak and undignified. Having a temper tantrum and hooking up with China out of spite is even worse.
We need to start solving our own problems, with dignity and courage.
"Choosing to do something doesn't entail the permanent duty to do it"
No, it doesn't. This is, I think, a fairly clearly articulated point in my piece, in fact! JG
I watched and listened to the podcast and I was telling you (using headphones it is not at all loud when I talk back) that, yes, the US has had the role of the world's policeman but it has been my observation for many years that they didn't particularly want it. Further, the world has been arguing against that role. Well, the world argued against that role but they sure kept their own contributions to that role pretty damned small while saying they were against the US filling that role but expecting the US to step up once again.
[Contradictory note to above assertion: DJT and Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, etc., etc..]
I would note that whenever something goes wrong in the world, said world looks to the US to assist, fix, lead, etc. [Notwithstanding, of course, the world's arguments against the US, as above.] In the US, for many years the typical response to the television pictures of whatever tragedy or situation was "Well, jeez, someone [subtext: the US] just oughta do somethin' ..." but they didn't really want the consequences.
Going back to the founding of the Republic there has been a terrifically strong isolationist streak in the US which has increased dramatically in the last few decades as the role of "world policeman" has yielded no benefit, only expenditures of lives and treasure and increasing world opprobrium. The result has been much less interest in that role within the US.
So, I don't blame the US if they choose to NOT be that policeman but I do suggest a bit more coherence in the strategy. Although, coherence is not necessarily a strength currently.
Your comment makes me wonder if perhaps the complainers in May countries who were unhappy with US decisions have collectively made the Us less willing to lead or assist. Or if maybe the history of the time between WW1 and WW2 is jus too far away now and most people simply don’t know about the economic conditions which led to the US becoming a leader in the post WW2 period.
There’s an expression. Strong men make easy times, easy times build weak men, weak men make hard times, hard times build strong men. But perhaps this expression applies to countries and economies as well.
Perhaps the riches the US has enjoyed are connected to its willingness to deal with hard times. If they do step out and leave a void, imagine if China or Russia moved into that void with their communist and authoritarian ways. Imagine if the USD was no longer the main world currency. I think the US has been dominant for so long that nobody in the US could imagine that outcome. And yet I think in another 10-20 years that’s maybe not such a crazy idea.
I absolutely agree that folks in many countries have lost sight (and memory and even, thought) of WWII and what they almost lost and which was saved by their own heroism but also very much by the involvement of the Americans. Many of those same countries also give no thought to the massive amounts that the US paid to assist in rebuilding those ruined countries.
Just as seriously, the US populace has forgotten the lessons of the war and that hard times need hard decisions. Your expression about strong and weak men is one that I have previously heard and to which I subscribe fully.
Personally, I think that the US dominance even at this date is predicated a lot by the fact that the USD is the world reserve currency. China has been trying to change that, to little success thus far. Now, given that the US has moved Venezuela from China's orbit and seems about to make Iranian oil sales to China a thing of the past, that seems to leave Russian supplies to China. Given China's overall strength compared to Russia I wonder about a greater use of the yuan in the oil trade with a consequent potential move to lessening the use of the USD as a reserve currency, something that would be highly significant for the US.
As for Canada? Canada is far beyond the concept of hard decisions and simply cannot conceive of the coming hard times. I say "coming hard times" because I look at Canada's massive and increasing indebtedness and inability to avoid increasing that debt and the increasing foreign influence in Canadian politics so I expect a day of reckoning much more sooner than later.
I also have concerns about the deficits and that a day of reckoning will come. Sadly, I have a feeling that by the time it lands it is going to land on a generation that lacks the skills to remedy it quickly. I see so many young adults who are quick to externalize and blame others for hardship but don’t stop to ask what they could do differently. I think we’re to the point where one person or group can’t fix it, but perhaps enough people getting their own affairs in order will contribute and eventually things will improve? I don’t know. I’m pretty disillusioned with the education system overall and think that for all the people getting arts degrees, that isn’t going to be what helps Canada.
IS, you are, to my mind, a complete optimist if you think that you can change the attitude of the populace - of any age! I contend that the population at large thinks that the government actually does provide free stuff and, accordingly, the government is the "solution" for many.
That is a large reason (not at all the only one) that I am a separatist. If we can get our new country on the direction of paying it's own way and emphasizing those things in our new country it is possible (I hope!) that the example might be taken by the populace. Above all, however, I want government to be honest about the (non) free stuff.
As for Canada, I believe that it is irretrievably lost.
Thanks for this Jen, as always.
I keep reminding myself to look at the situation from the perspective of what this means to us as Canadians. And you too keep to that lane, which I appreciate. None of us, and nor do most average Americans, have any control over where the US will land post-Trump. What do we have control over is how we reframe ourselves in a post-Trump world where all the norms we've had for the last 80 or so years are soft at best, upsidedown in truth.
As you say, we need to figure ourselves out and do all the things a grown-ass country should have been doing but didn't have to do because of our proximity to the US - reorganize and reequip our military, realign our trade and our trading partners, strip out of our policy all the unnecessary bits and leave the important ones... and therein lies the crunch for us. What exactly does that look like?
By virtue of the great moats around us - Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans - and by virtue of being besties with France and the UK first, the US laterly, we haven't been forced to really build a nation where natural trade-offs are required. And we're now forced into that space, and man are we pissed about it! Questions like: can we keep supply management and import French butter? Can we add value to wood and minerals, oil and natural gas instead of just exporting the raw materials and buying them back in finished goods? Do we have the gumption (yes, I'm using that word too) to support our own start-ups and buy at home or do we need the "brand certainty" (such as it is) of large multi-national companies who don't employ one damn Canadian? Such questions, and so many more, are ours and ours alone to decide. It's in these trenches that we may very well let ourselves down.
I've been saying all along, Trump is not always wrong. His execution sucks, and he's racist and mysogenist to boot, but he was right to call us out on military spending. On trade. On immigration. On productivity. And we should be pulling our own weight in a multitude of different ways that would be good for us in the long run.
The question is: Can we get over ourselves, over our own sanctimony, and act in our own best interests? Drop inter-provincial trade barriers, support Canadian ingenuity, still act with reasonable values and make pragmatic choices at the same time? Effect appropriate boundaries around trade with partners who aren't in line with values like intellectual property or human rights and forced labour etc...Time will tell.
And then, once the dust settles and the world order is more apparent, only then will we be able to figure out our place in it as an effective middle power, with any luck. But first, we've got to clean our own house. Welcome spring!
Well, Canada has had over a year of "emergency" to figure that out and as expected we underachieved.
As we are in the age of "immediate gratification" I think it's important to note that it took decades to get into this shape. It's going to take time to get out. We must relearn patience. And, the government is not the actor here... all they can do is set a path and clear some space... and I'm iffy about that part. Again, time will tell. I do think there is a role for hope here, and that's where I try to live. Pragmatic hope. Cheers.
Meanwhile young people in Canada the data shows are increasingly saying "Canada isn't worth it" and are leaving.
Canada doesn't have decades to get out of this mess. It isn't impatience, it's the reality of the situation. We can't afford yet another "lost generation."
Canada hasn't even pulled up out of the nosedive yet let alone levelled out started to climb back up.
Canadians are lazy. We have allowed our best minds, entrepreneurs, cultural talent and athletes to head south because we are too fucking lazy to do the hard work to appreciate their talents in Canada.
I don’t believe Canadians are innately lazy. There are enough of them that work hard and produce stuff that allow support an ever growing segment of underperforming entitlement hounds. The issue is that over time the central government and their civil service minions have encouraged the supported to rely for their living on entitlements - the source of their power A-and to be proud of this rather than feel ashamed which is how things used to be when honest workers were valued and not considered stupid by their comrades in the lobster trap.
If Canadians want to make this choice then they deserve the consequences. What I find appalling is the future unborn generations who will be saddled with the cost of this system and who as a result will be enslaved by countries provident enough to save rather than borrow. A certain large oriental country being currently kowtowed to by the chief Canuck springs to mind.
Not so much lazy IMHO as the elite in Canada don't lead well when it comes to ambition, work ethic, grit, etc.
It doesn't help that most 1%ers I know have one foot out the door with a 2nd passport and/or property outside Canada. They aren't invested in Canada like American elites are in America.
This goes beyond red tape and tax rates.
You forgot to mention that execrable and morally compromised institution the United Nations.
Thanks, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
I rarely disagree with Jen, but this on this occasion I have a couple of comments.
Firstly, Donald Trump is not a conservative. He is barely a Republican. So, respectfully, many principled conservatives may support some of President Trumps's actions, but most do not. That is a point worth remembering. Marco Rubio is a solid conservative who works in the Administration and has kept his principles intact. He does not support the tariffs, the abandonment of NATO, or the kid gloves displayed with Putin, for example.
Secondly, American Exceptionalism is based on the establishment of the sole Nation on Earth that acknowledges citizens hold foundational, "inalienable rights" that were granted by the creator, and not subject to the whims of man or his courts. It is not a function of wealth or political influence or military power; if America were the poorest, weakest Nation on Earth, she would still be exceptional for this reason. America is exceptional precisely because it is unique in this regard.
Thirdly, President Trump is not going to abandon NATO. He is throwing a first salvo- a shot across the bow- to the same timorous popinjay "allies" who want Ukraine defended, Iran defeated, China contained, and the world to work for them, without the so-called "allies" committing the necessary effort or resources to make it happen. Like his criticism of Canada, which Jen covered quite well, it is time for a great number of freeloaders to step up and contribute to all that carrying of water America has performed for them.
How are the inalienable rights going? JG
Which inalienable rights are being vitiated?
DJA
A bit better now, thanks to the decision in Missouri v Biden.
Yes President Trump is as much a conservative as Premier Doug Ford. Shameless opportunism is their hallmark. The same as many other politicians who would have great difficulty being successful by actually producing something that makes others’ lives better.
And I agree the “unalienable rights” aspect of the US is what makes it unique and yes great compared to most of the rest of the world. Power flows from the people to the “governors” rather than the other was around. I was born a British subject and became an American late in life. Now I can die a free man and walk tall and proud in the meantime.
Terrifically well said, Donald!
That is very kind, Ken.
The current strategic actions might be "offensive", but the war itself is "defensive.
This war was NOT started by the USA, but rather by Iran in 1979, and its, and its Proxies' actions ever since. "Death to Israel and Death to America" has been their decades-long battle cry resulting in repeated hostilities and murderous actions against both. Should they have sat idly by waiting for Iran's imminent Nuclear warheads?
I think that’s a bit too far along the slippery slope to actually be a realistic argument right now. The US isn’t claiming they were attacked and need Allie’s to come to their defense.
The US is gone. Until it proves otherwise, it is a GOP-enabled Trump dictatorship. Its leader is a child rapist and a traitor. So they've pretty much hit rock bottom and started to dig. Their word on everything means nothing. They're no different from Russia. All those "safeguards" the Founders thought they wrote into the Constitution are gone. NORAD will continue forever because the US would merrily ignore the border to ensure that nothing bad falls on its own territory.
The Democrats appear unfocused and as deer-in-the-headlights as ever, completely unable to rise to the occasion. I see no reason to believe the midterms will be normal, although even some Republicans might be pissed off to vote against $5 gas.
The great American democratic experiment lasted 250 years. It's over. It was sold to the highest bidder. The Constitution needs to be rewritten. I don't see anyone trusting the US again in my lifetime. They have several generations of damage to undo before they can start over.....assuming they get the GOP out....a 50/50 proposition at best. They chose this. Only they can fix it. We'll figure it out, but it will be ugly, as our leadership doesn't appear ready to meet the moment with anything but words.
How many people of varied political views who are US citizens do you know? I think this is a worst case scenario view and doesn’t reflect what’s broadly happening in the US. My sample size is admittedly small, but I interact with close to 100 Americans every week, of varied walks of life and political beliefs. Some do raise concerns like you. But most of the don’t.
I have no predictions about midterms. People are biased by their own political beliefs when they talk about midterm results. I suspect democrats take back at least the house but maybe the senate too. And by the time we hit 2027 we’ll be hearing more rumours about the Democrat leadership race and maybe by then they’ll have a coherent plan that isn’t so extremist. (Kamala was extremist IMO. But if newsom puts his hat in the ring, oh boy look out.)
I think the constitution is fine. But the people themselves are no longer educated broadly enough for either the politicians or the voters to be informed about things. Sadly I expect that to become worse everywhere with AI and short form content. So it may mean a lot of bad things on the way for societies across many countries.
I tend to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I think if the midterms are even remotely free and fair, the GOP will be slaughtered. I hope to be wrong on all my opinions about the future of the US, but dictators don't give up easily. And this one is fully entrenched. But I'm quite certain it will take decades to undo the damage Trump has done in 15 months.
The point you make about the proof of the usefulness of NATO being that it was not needed needs to be shared widely.
Please share it widely! JG
I think it’s clear they want the same benefits of having been the leader, but without having to continue doing the things that led others to look to them that way. They seem confused that acting differently is leading people to treat them with less respect than when they acted in a way others admired.
Jen I love your term about Canadians lacking “internal resilience”. That is the one of the best Canadian ways of saying “cojones” that I have heard in a long time. (Matt can translate). The last good one I heard was from the Canadian Chief of Staff (?) years ago referring to one of his officers (?) lacking “ moral fiber”.
Such wide ranging acknowledgments. Canadian defence underspending. The costs of exceptionalism. I think there’s a life cycle arc to this. Where the benefits are so long standing as to become invisible whereas the costs are very present.
Fabulous article, Jen. As one born in America during WWII, I am appalled at what has become of that country and very grateful to be a Canadian today.
“Symbolic measures”. Canadians like leading the world in various matters and when it comes to “symbolic measures” in the last 50 years Canada has had no competition as the world leader.
My ancestors lived in, and reacted to, the world that the Russian Tsar made. Violent revolution forced them to make a choice; an unknown and untested Bolshevik world or life in the west, also somewhat unknown but well-tested. Two (3 and 4)generations later, I and my children and grandchildren live in and react to the world that America has made. It has been a good and benevolent world for the most part. But I'm not sure we can easily ride out a turn of 'the cycle' wherein the death of Pax Americana leads to an equally benevolent (hopefully) new world order.
We pray for calmer spirits and cooler heads to prevail in the present.
"Tis only a flesh wound! The rest of us cannot be so sanguine."
Nice play on etymology!