History runs in cycles, sorta. The US has gone through isolationist periods before. Though this time it may be part of general reaction against modernity and complexity.
Salon, Heather Digby Parton, today: Donald Trump abdicates as leader of the free world, subtitled “The president’s UN address showed he has ceded that position to Canada’s Mark Carney”
On Tuesday, Donald Trump stood before the United Nations General Assembly to give a speech in which he made it clear that the United States has now fully abandoned its last remaining fig leaf of decency and morality on the world stage, and has embarked on an imperialist model not seen since the 19th century. Since this was a Trump speech, filled with his usual bombast and braggadocio, it didn’t have quite the shock value it might have carried in the past. But there was a new atmosphere in the room. The world sees America as a threat now, and countries are making new arrangements.
The speech was the worst he’s given, and that’s saying something. Delivered with a bored, desultory tone, the obviously tired president spent 40 minutes rambling on and on with his usual litany of grievances and lies. He made it clear that he sees no limits on his power. Looking directly at the Iranian president, he mused aloud, “I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival, and no hope of future greatness for generations?” It was outrageously provocative and insulting…
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Or is he abdicating to China?
The Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, today: The Deferential President, subtitled “Not long ago, President Trump could claim that he ran the world. Now he’s waiting at the bottom of a set of airline steps for the Chinese president.’ [gift link]
The 747 slowly wheeled to a stop last night on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington. Portable stairs were put in position, while a red carpet was unfurled and lined by both American and Chinese soldiers in dress uniforms. After a few minutes, Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared at the aircraft door. He paused and waved. Waiting below, staring up expectantly, was President Trump.
It was a remarkable act of deference. By tradition, American presidents don’t make the 12-mile trip to the base to greet a foreign leader. They instead wait at the White House, backed by the grandeur and power of the executive mansion. But not this time.
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It was not that long ago when Trump, a self-styled international bully, could credibly claim to “run the country and the world.” But he seems far smaller on the global stage now. His speech this week to the United Nations General Assembly, usually a signature moment on any president’s foreign-policy calendar, generated few headlines other than those about his threat to “annihilate” Iran. But even that bluster felt familiar and tired; Trump is stuck in a war he is desperate to leave, and leaders in Tehran seem to believe that he doesn’t have the political will—or the defensive munitions—to authorize a full-fledged return to the conflict.
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And more. As I keep saying, the world is facing existential threats that can only be solved through international cooperation by the entire human race.
NY Times, Editorial Board, today: Trump’s Failure to Lead Is Costing America and the World [gift link]
The world is facing at least three crises today that cannot be resolved by any one country. Two are longer-term and arguably existential: the threat of uncontrolled artificial intelligence and the growing impact of climate change. One is shorter-term and damaging the global economy: the disruption of shipping lanes in the Middle East. All three require the kind of high-level international cooperation that helped manage other challenges, like the threat of nuclear warfare during the Cold War and the damage to the ozone layer.
Yet almost nobody expects meaningful progress during this week’s meetings in Washington between the leaders of the two most powerful countries, President Xi Jinping of China and President Donald Trump. …
The low expectations for the visit underline the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to American influence and global well-being. He is an undisciplined politician who puts his personal interests above the nation’s, running an administration that has no coherent strategy for solving major problems. He is instead often exacerbating the world’s biggest problems.
As I’ve said before, what continues to boggle my mind is how many people still support Trump, and say he is the best president ever. This is a factor in my conclusions about cognitive limitations of the human race, which cannot seem to escape its tribalist nature. So much for interstellar federations.
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Brief items.
I wish I could see this sentiment elsewhere. It’s a response to the notion, by conservatives, that the government should be run like a business. Do they understand what that means? Not to mention that Trump drove several businesses into bankruptcy.
Seen several times now on Facebook:
I think the argument about business is an expression of American ambition, at the expense of others.
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- Slate, Shirin Ali, today: Trump Found a New Horrifying Way to Disappear ICE Detainees
- They send detainees “to third countries without ever having spoken to an attorney or even their families.”
- Because to white-supremacist MAGA, these are not real people.
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- The Atlantic, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Michael Scherer, yesterday: The Supporters Urging Trump to Declare Martial Law for the Midterms
- Subtitled: “Trump’s advisers have been working for months to move his focus away from baseless theories of election fraud. A group of outsiders is making that difficult.”
- I take this as: they know they cannot win on their merits.
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This is sorta like, not all Republicans are racists, but most racists are Republicans.
- Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, today: Christian evangelist defends $4,500 networking trip—and his “need” for luxury hotels, subtitled “Joshua Feuerstein says wealthy businessmen understand why proximity costs money, even if he won’t publicly explain exactly what they’re buying”
- That is, where do grifters (and child molesters) find a home? Say no more.
- Yet we see such stories again and again. There’s a pattern here.
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I continue to check in on Jim Palmer who writes lengthy posts every day about… well I’ll quote his opening page: “existential health, meaning, and self-trust in a post-religious world”
Here’s an item I’ll get back to, and will only note today.
There Is No Cure for Being Human, subtitled “The Six Existential Realities We Spend Our Lives Trying to Escape”
At a glance, this seems to me about the human condition, that we *can’t* escape. The question is how we deal with these realities. The fact that we *can* think about these realities outside our daily perceptions is progress, perhaps. Though the human race will never escape its primordial past.
