'Pax Americana' implies they ever created peace. they couldn't do that at home, let alone abroad
This part made me laugh.
[Imagine] a world in which American power isn't constantly being called upon to address faraway crises or reassure nervous allies — the United States trades the burdens of being a superpower for the modest but more manageable, affordable and humane ambitions of a normal country.
Our military shrinks to a size adequate for national defense, not global policing. We spend the savings on mending the frayed edges of society.
Our allies stop freeloading off our security guarantees and start spending more on their own defense.
Our foreign policy becomes less arrogant and more collaborative. We lose the illusion that we can, or should, solve other people's problems, and we free ourselves from the personal sacrifices and moral compromises that go with that illusion.
Our economic policies shift to adapt to a less-globalized world. Instead of depending on China for low-cost manufacturing and labor, we reinvest in American workers and factories and become independent in everything from energy to microchips.
He calls it a "fantasy version of that world" and a "tempting vision, a left-right marriage of George McGovern's Come Home, America and Donald Trump's America First" and he links this fantasy world to anti-Semitism via Father Charles Coughlin.
[Imagine] a world in which American power isn’t constantly being called upon to address faraway crises or reassure nervous allies
lmfao what the fuck is he talking about. who the fuck is calling upon the United States to help them out other than maybe Israel?
Our allies stop freeloading off our security guarantees and start spending more on their own defense.
you're causing the problems in the first place! how many countless terrorists currently exist that would not if America hadn't gotten involved in the Middle East?!
Our foreign policy becomes less arrogant and more collaborative. We lose the illusion that we can, or should, solve other people’s problems, and we free ourselves from the personal sacrifices and moral compromises that go with that illusion.
oh, the massive self-sacrifice on behalf of the Senate to pour even more money into the pockets of military companies. the absolute humility and generosity of these people to try and solve the world's problems by drone striking children until they fear blue skies.
Our economic policies shift to adapt to a less-globalized world. Instead of depending on China for low-cost manufacturing and labor, we reinvest in American workers and factories and become independent in everything from energy to microchips.
maybe America shouldn't have done it in the first place? fucking moron.
This person imagines America as a superhero who's getting a bit old and is finding it difficult to solve people's problems and is thinking of just retiring and hanging up his cape, rather than the actual image, which is a supervillain who causes countless tragedies of untold magnitude across the entire globe and reinforces a system that leads to the daily suffering of billions.
the United States trades the burdens of being a superpower for the modest but more manageable, affordable and humane ambitions of a normal country.
tfw you almost see how despicable the USA is, but you turn away from the bright light because it hurts your eyes too much
Bret is sort of accidentally correct that we're wrong if we think if we take our boot off the rest of the world, we'll enjoy increased prosperity at home. Our standard of living is based on being able to exploit the global south and keep the constant threat of invasion out there. Remove that and the treats would dry up overnight.
what exactly do we lead the world in? covid deaths? summary executions by police?
We are the #1 one leader in hellish situations on earth or hellworld for short.
Who knows, at this writing, what Vladimir Putin will decide to do with the forces he’s massed along Ukraine’s borders?
idk, some CIA handlers deciding if there will really be a "Russian false flag"
If Putin backs down, maybe thanks to some face-saving diplomatic formula, the Biden administration will deserve full credit for masterly crisis management: whipping into line our European allies, particularly Germany; thwarting Russian covert operations by leaking details to the media; expanding America’s military presence in frontline NATO states; working on ways to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas; refusing to negotiate at Ukraine’s expense; threatening sanctions against Moscow that, for once, have real teeth.
"whipping" Germany into line by preventing it from buying gas from Russia? way to manage the crisis Joe! Accusing Russia of planning false flags while putting more troops in? way to thwart their operations!
If Putin doesn’t back down, these were still the right and necessary steps. They just weren’t sufficient.
literally unfalsifiable, i am a brain genius
With the way things are going won't be dreaming for long, its a coming like the sunrise, and there's no stopping it.
Is this some kind of life guru stuff where step 1 is visualizing what you want? Will he publish another article tomorrow about how to bring that world into existence? I look forward to it! Bret Stephens is clearly a communist.
Dunno. And I don't want to even try to imagine what's going on in the mind of a bedbug.
