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> The belief that the U.S. needs to be involved in the international stage It's in the financial interests of the US to be involved on the international stage.

by knz 9y ago

> The belief that the U.S. needs to be involved in the international stage It's in the financial interests of the US to be involved on the international stage. I listened to Trump's speech today and heard nothing but "Boohoo, it's so hard to be America". The reality is that the US is the gorilla in every room - we have the largest economy, largest military, and American hegemony has been a massive benefit to the country. Countries bend over backwards to gain access to US markets and millions still aspire to move here looking for better opportunities. The whole situation reminds me of a quote from Interstellar - "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt." We've giving up our global leadership for the sake of a few extra dollars in our pocket now - never mind the cost of inaction or every bit of scientific evidence that tells us something must be done. Even the Department of Defense believes that climate change is real and will have significant consequences for the US. When did American exceptionalism turn into "It's too hard so I'm going to do nothing"?

cirath 9y ago
> When did American exceptionalism turn into "It's too hard so I'm going to do nothing"? That's been a painfully common refrain in the current generation of political discourse (though the generational line is difficult to pinpoint; there seem to be as many young people talking about it as 60 year old lifetime senators). Climate change? Hard to deal with, we should do nothing. Gun control? They will take all our guns, or take none, and the second amendment said I could have guns. There is no middle ground. But the root cause is polarization; rather than middle grounds, shades of gray, or compromises, everything in the current political climate seems to boil down to black or white, right or wrong, with no space between. It's... Hard to watch, some days.

by knz 9y ago

cirath 9y ago

> When did American exceptionalism turn into "It's too hard so I'm going to do nothing"? That's been a painfully common refrain in the current generation of political discourse (though the generational line is difficult to pinpoint; there seem to be as many young people talking about it as 60 year old lifetime senators). Climate change? Hard to deal with, we should do nothing. Gun control? They will take all our guns, or take none, and the second amendment said I could have guns. There is no middle ground. But the root cause is polarization; rather than middle grounds, shades of gray, or compromises, everything in the current political climate seems to boil down to black or white, right or wrong, with no space between. It's... Hard to watch, some days.