-FJ... what does Machiavelli say about being loathed?
No one fears Trump anymore. Especially not Iran. Trump and his minions have shown we can, like Russia, inflict grave damage on a country. However a Vietnam Era exchange between Champ Summers and North Vietnamese Colonel Nguyen Don Tu may be instructive here...
Summers remarked, "You know, you never defeated us on the battlefield." Colonel Tu paused, then responded, "That may be so. But it is also irrelevant."
That's exactly what Trump has exposed about the US. We are no longer feared, no longer respected, no longer seen as leaders in the free world.
Not Reagan, bot Clinton, not either Bush, not Obama and not Biden. It's all because of Trump.
Because he essentially could not keep his mouth shut and as such, removed any doubt about our capabilities, thereby putting America at risk.
Fear and loathing indicate a codependency. The bond is purely one of mutual utility w/o affection. And we don't need Europe's affection in exchange for taxpayer charity and largess. 'Ef Europe.
Nations are not loved, not by those other than their own citizens. But nations can be respected, and it is better to be respected than feared. Trump and his worshipers don't understand the difference.
Putin prefers being feared. He deals with foreign countries almost exclusively via threats. That strategy drove Finland and Sweden to join NATO and drove Poland and Germany to massively re-arm -- for him, the worst possible outcomes. Trump's bullying of fellow democracies has driven countries to develop new trade relationships that exclude the US, and to minimize their technological and military dependence on us, thus reducing our influence over them.
When you make people fear you, they have an incentive to defend themselves against you and strengthen themselves to resist you. Only the weakest and most pitiful knuckle under to bullying.
You're wrong. We were admire and our culture spread across Europe, Asia, and other continents.
From Pew Research:
"The United States was historically one of the most admired and influential countries in the world before Donald Trump took office. However, global perceptions and public approval ratings have frequently fluctuated, often tracking closely with the specific policies and personal popularity of the president sitting in the Oval Office."
From The Texas National Security Review:
The Post-WWII Era: For decades, the U.S. was broadly seen as a global superpower championing democracy, human rights, and the international order.
Pew Research Center:
The Obama Administration: Data from the Pew Research Center shows that the U.S. image rebounded significantly worldwide when Barack Obama took office, reaching near-record levels of global favorability and trust."
Shifts in Global Perception: The Bush Administration: Global approval and trust in U.S. leadership previously suffered during the presidency of George W. Bush, largely due to the Iraq War and polarized foreign policies.
The Trump Administration: Publics around the world widely questioned Donald Trump’s "America First" leadership style. During his first term, confidence in the U.S. president dropped steeply in many nations, which directly dragged down the overall favorability ratings of the country itself."
You can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts.
Is it possible, and I think it is, that this nation's current "leadership" is far more ignorant and reichwing radical (as well as Zionist Christian radica l) than Iran is radical? Perhaps it is time to stop judging other nations, their government, their religion, and their people only by western European and American standards. Particularly those of Zionist Israel.
I don't think it is as radical as the Iran regime. But the facts are that under Trump and his administration, women and girls have lost access to reproductive health care, Americans have been shot and killed on their streets, documented and undocumented immigrants have been kidnapped off our streets and put in internment camps, and the administration is trying to take away mail-in voting. The current POTUS, Trump, also pardoned the convicted felons who attacked the US Capitol to try to stop the certification of the 2020 electoral college.
IOW, we've slid into aquasi-authoritarian rule, headed by a dangerous idiot who is losing control of his mind daily.
I look at a much broader reality than just this. IOW's I think it time for Americans to look at the broader unethical actions of our government and the underlying motivation for them. Both domestically and internationally. Usually the trail leads to the capitalist class and its ever growing insatiable desire for more and more at the expense of society as a whole.
Short of that the more things change the more they'll stay the same.
It's better to be feared than loved. Machiavelli, "The Prince"
ReplyDeleteIf I remember history correctly, Nazi Germany was feared. How'd that turn out?
Delete-FJ... what does Machiavelli say about being loathed?
ReplyDeleteNo one fears Trump anymore. Especially not Iran. Trump and his minions have shown we can, like Russia, inflict grave damage on a country. However a Vietnam Era exchange between Champ Summers and North Vietnamese Colonel Nguyen Don Tu may be instructive here...
Summers remarked, "You know, you never defeated us on the battlefield." Colonel Tu paused, then responded, "That may be so. But it is also irrelevant."
That's exactly what Trump has exposed about the US. We are no longer feared, no longer respected, no longer seen as leaders in the free world.
Not Reagan, bot Clinton, not either Bush, not Obama and not Biden. It's all because of Trump.
Because he essentially could not keep his mouth shut and as such, removed any doubt about our capabilities, thereby putting America at risk.
Fear and loathing indicate a codependency. The bond is purely one of mutual utility w/o affection. And we don't need Europe's affection in exchange for taxpayer charity and largess. 'Ef Europe.
DeleteThe Decline of the American Empire has been in progress since about 1978. trump has feverishly put that Decline on steriods and greased the slide.
DeleteIt's going to be hard fall.
Especially for moron narcissists. Right?
ReplyDeleteNations are not loved, not by those other than their own citizens. But nations can be respected, and it is better to be respected than feared. Trump and his worshipers don't understand the difference.
ReplyDeletePutin prefers being feared. He deals with foreign countries almost exclusively via threats. That strategy drove Finland and Sweden to join NATO and drove Poland and Germany to massively re-arm -- for him, the worst possible outcomes. Trump's bullying of fellow democracies has driven countries to develop new trade relationships that exclude the US, and to minimize their technological and military dependence on us, thus reducing our influence over them.
When you make people fear you, they have an incentive to defend themselves against you and strengthen themselves to resist you. Only the weakest and most pitiful knuckle under to bullying.
"It is better to be respected than feared."
DeleteThis.
The US was NEVER respected. It was always "loathed".
DeleteYou're wrong. We were admire and our culture spread across Europe, Asia, and other continents.
DeleteFrom Pew Research:
"The United States was historically one of the most admired and influential countries in the world before Donald Trump took office. However, global perceptions and public approval ratings have frequently fluctuated, often tracking closely with the specific policies and personal popularity of the president sitting in the Oval Office."
From The Texas National Security Review:
The Post-WWII Era: For decades, the U.S. was broadly seen as a global superpower championing democracy, human rights, and the international order.
Pew Research Center:
The Obama Administration: Data from the Pew Research Center shows that the U.S. image rebounded significantly worldwide when Barack Obama took office, reaching near-record levels of global favorability and trust."
Shifts in Global Perception: The Bush Administration: Global approval and trust in U.S. leadership previously suffered during the presidency of George W. Bush, largely due to the Iraq War and polarized foreign policies.
The Trump Administration: Publics around the world widely questioned Donald Trump’s "America First" leadership style. During his first term, confidence in the U.S. president dropped steeply in many nations, which directly dragged down the overall favorability ratings of the country itself."
You can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts.
Why trump, and America by extension, are losers today.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned when Trump returns from the G7 and has to explain the "US Treaty" with the now, and I quote the POTUS, "unradical regime" of Iran.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible, and I think it is, that this nation's current "leadership" is far more ignorant and reichwing radical (as well as Zionist Christian radica l) than Iran is radical? Perhaps it is time to stop judging other nations, their government, their religion, and their people only by western European and American standards. Particularly those of Zionist Israel.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is as radical as the Iran regime. But the facts are that under Trump and his administration, women and girls have lost access to reproductive health care, Americans have been shot and killed on their streets, documented and undocumented immigrants have been kidnapped off our streets and put in internment camps, and the administration is trying to take away mail-in voting. The current POTUS, Trump, also pardoned the convicted felons who attacked the US Capitol to try to stop the certification of the 2020 electoral college.
DeleteIOW, we've slid into aquasi-authoritarian rule, headed by a dangerous idiot who is losing control of his mind daily.
I look at a much broader reality than just this. IOW's I think it time for Americans to look at the broader unethical actions of our government and the underlying motivation for them. Both domestically and internationally. Usually the trail leads to the capitalist class and its ever growing insatiable desire for more and more at the expense of society as a whole.
DeleteShort of that the more things change the more they'll stay the same.