Originally published at http://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/12/01/history-decline-and-fall-american-empire
Excellent, fact based, points. This article reminded me of the last years of the Soviet Union when it was run by one octogenarian after the otherâŚas they were dying in office a year or two after replacing the previous. That was immediately before Gorbachev came to power.
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Today, the coronavirus here in the United States might be more accurately relabeled âthe Trump virus.â
But Tom, not just Trump, the whole Republican Party, in the Senate, that exonerated Trump are in my opinion, just as culpable because they were all cowards who were terrified of Trump and by refusing to impeach him allowed covid-19 to spread killing thousands.
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These days it seems that as teeny weeny as any virus is, it is as really formidable an enemy as any human.
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Mikhail Gorbachev, one of my few heroes. He brought the end to a sickened system*. Not perfectly, but Peacefully. Many were gunning against him in the Kremlin, but he made sure that Peace prevailed. What a mensch.
*Now who is going to fix ours?
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This article reads like a eulogy, and I hope it is one, because imperialism is inconsistent with the ideals of a republic. One or the other has to go.
I remember a Paul Simon song called American Tune that captured the same feeling as this articleâa country that âcanât be forever blessedâ. That was back in the 1970âs, after Nixon and Vietnam, so the slippage was obvious even then. The Trump worshipers are those who still refuse to reckon with not being boss of everybody.
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What is so depressing is that it doesnât have to be this way. It is happening because of Washingtonâs choices. Why did the American people allow their capital city to become a noisome swamp? Honestly they are now reaping what they have sown and no one has sympathy for them.
Assyria, Babylon, Austria-Hungary, Zhou, Han, Tang. All can be added to the authorâs list alongside Rome, Portugal, Spain and Britain as arrogant empires that fell. But the level of arrogance the U.S. reached since the fall of the Soviet Union 25 years ago has led to, as Malcolm X once said in the 60s, âthe chickensâŚcome home to roostâ.
Welcome Jerry Wallace, and Jerry Wallace, welcome.
Only someone with a very persuasive argument could convince me that the US didnât squander the âpeace dividendâ of the '90s the Soviet Union gave to it by making no serious attempt to use it for the benefit of other countries and then in the next two decades, doubling-down on this failure, conducted two costly conflicts in the Middle East and many other countries around the world that proved the 21st century wouldnât be the âAmerican Centuryâ.
Tom, you are one of the only people who understand the nature of this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire â most to the younger folks are oblivious to this truth, which I wrote to Thomas Edsallâs column today, 12/2/2020, âHonestly, This Was a Weird Electionâ in the NY âTimesâ today:
First, Thomas, Iâve been missing you and your deeply researched and intellectual political/economic and social columns â in âthese âTimesâ they are a changinâ.
However, I would politely posit that you are over-thinking this one today on the very important, and potentially âOur Revolutionaryâ progressive left-turn in seeing through this polling data.
Yes, Thomas, you are correctly analyzing the split of informed folks voting against Trump, but also âleaning inâ (to the right, Republican, conservative, middle, etc.) in races without Trump on the ballot â but this trend can be explained and exploited both easily and radically to the benefit of our country (and world).
When I demonstrate weekly, in Portland and Portsmouth with simple double sided signs â I change the signs and what I shout.
Recently I tried shouting this to sidewalk crowds:
âLetâs do a little sample poll, â How many of you want to live in an EMPIRE?â
âI thought so ---- no takers? Are you sure?â
âYou only have two levers when you vote ---- democracy or Empire. Just remember donât pull the lever for Empire!â
Trump has always acted exactly like an Emperor.
Trump is innately and strongly symbolic of Empire.
Trump is a symptom of âthe disease of Republicsâ, ie. EMPIRE.
The symptom and symbol of Empire can be easily turned from one nasty person into a thought
Going forward from 2020 â a party which stands for democracy, and has the brains to campaign as being overtly Anti-Empire will win.
Yes, Jerry, you and the author, Tom â Iâm sorry, but you get it.
You are one of the only people who understand the nature of this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire â most of the younger folks are oblivious to this truth, which I wrote to Thomas Edsallâs column today, 12/2/2020, âHonestly, This Was a Weird Electionâ in the NY âTimesâ:
First, Thomas, Iâve been missing you and your deeply researched and intellectual political/economic and social columns â in âthese âTimesâ they are a changinâ.
However, I would politely posit that you are over-thinking this one today on the very important, and potentially âOur Revolutionaryâ progressive left-turn in seeing through this polling data.
Yes, Thomas, you are correctly analyzing the split of informed folks voting against Trump, but also âleaning inâ (to the right, Republican, conservative, middle, etc.) in races without Trump on the ballot â but this trend can be explained and exploited both easily and radically to the benefit of our country (and world).
When I demonstrate weekly, in Portland and Portsmouth with simple double sided signs â I change the signs and what I shout.
Recently I tried shouting this to sidewalk crowds:
âLetâs do a little sample poll, â How many of you want to live in an EMPIRE?â
âI thought so ---- no takers? Are you sure?â
âYou only have two levers when you vote ---- democracy or Empire. Just remember donât pull the lever for Empire!â
Trump has always acted exactly like an Emperor.
Trump is innately and strongly symbolic of Empire.
Trump is a symptom of âthe disease of Republicsâ, ie. EMPIRE.
The symptom and symbol of Empire can be easily turned from one nasty person into a thought
Going forward from 2020 â a party which stands for democracy, and has the brains to campaign as being overtly Anti-Empire will win.