8 ms·

trump is shaping the country towards his view of the world. A view where there are no such things as friends. Either people are there to inflate your ego while

trump is shaping the country towards his view of the world. A view where there are no such things as friends. Either people are there to inflate your ego while trying to get power or people are there to be used and have their power subjugated. For countries, regardless of how brash and abrasive international relations go, weaker countries will try to win favor by showing support and powerful countries (that were friends) are now being pummeled and face the decision to ride out the crassness or break ties. you can live a life with that world view but what a hollow hollow inhuman life. and those people will desert you the moment you cease to have power.

vixen99 8y ago
You should write for the NYT.
fit2rule 8y ago
The USA has been callously dropping bombs on innocent people for decades. Don't kid yourself that this is all Trumps' fault - he's just the latest rung in a very long ladder into oblivion...
- jimjimjim 8y ago
  Many have always been annoyed but there was still a united front against the "opposition" parts of the world, whether militarily, economically or culturally. That united front is being actively dismantled.
krapp 8y ago
I think it's slightly more subtle than that ... he's playing to a feeling amongst certain demographics that their share of America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" has been stolen from them by "globalists" and their foreign allies, and that this need to be pushed back against to return the US to some (apocryphal and mythical) golden age. He's not trying to negotiate as an equal but assert his dominance. He's turning over the tables of the moneychangers and running at the world with a sourge... or at least in his head and the hearts of some of his supporters, he is.
- sheepmullet 8y ago
  > America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" has been stolen from them Hasn’t it? Imagine if the trillion+ spent in Iraq+Afghanistan had instead been invested in infrastructure in the US. > He's not trying to negotiate as an equal What makes you think that?
- rswail 8y ago
  That's his populist position that gets him the cheering crowds, but his trade position is based on his complete misunderstanding of how international trade works, how tariffs are a tax on US consumption, and his misconception that trade is a zero sum game, that for every "winner" there is a "loser". Ford isn't going to import the Focus from China, because of Trump's misguided policies. They will sell the production elsewhere. The US is deprived of an efficient small car, but it hasn't gained any employment, production or anything else. Harley Davison will move production of motorcycles to be sold in the EU to the EU and elsewhere. This deprives the US of manufacturing and the associated jobs. It doesn't deprive the EU of Harley Davisons.
- mistermann 8y ago
  I find this sort of comment very frustrating. Indeed there is some truth in it, but my frustration stems from a complete lack of any indication of the degree to which it is true, or the degree to which Trump supporters believe these things. There is no really good way of knowing what individual people are thinking in their minds, yet an alien reading forum comments might conclude we've mastered mind-reading technology. > he's playing to a feeling Implying any difference of political opinion is based on emotion, rather than logic or a simple difference of opinion. Sometime in the last 10 years or so did we decide The One True Proper Way To Run The World, but it wasn't reported in newspapers? > that their share of America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" They think certain things are a "birthright", as opposed to thinking (correctly or incorrectly) that it is something they have earned? > has been stolen from them by "globalists" and their foreign allies Why is globalists in quotes? In objective reality, is there not a fairly clear distinction between those who are more nationalist in their preferred approach to managing the world's affairs, and those who are more collective/globalist? > and that this need to be pushed back against to return the US to some (apocryphal and mythical) golden age. Must the motivation be returning to a "golden age"? I see the debate over nationalism vs globalism as little different than capitalism vs socialism. The US tends to be somewhat more towards the capitalist end of the spectrum, which yields some good results and some bad, I don't agree with the notion that any of that necessarily "belongs" or must necessarily be shared with the overall world. Demanding "charity" is extremely offensive to me. To be clear, I believe charity is very important and by my morality I essentially consider it a near obligation if things have worked out very well for you in life, but I simultaneously believe that it should be absolutely voluntary. > He's not trying to negotiate as an equal but assert his dominance This sounds lovely at first glance, until you put a little thought into it. Isn't this precisely how one should negotiate? Would you have us believe it is an accepted and widely practiced norm to negotiate in a manner that does not accentuate your strengths, in order to best achieve an agreement most beneficial to your goals? > or at least in his head and the hearts of some of his supporters, he is. Speculation on my part, but this seems fairly inline with the popular notion that Trump lacks or has lost his mental faculties, and his supporters are all motivated purely by uninformed emotions. Again, is an informed, logical, difference of opinion impossible?

vixen99 8y ago

You should write for the NYT.

fit2rule 8y ago

The USA has been callously dropping bombs on innocent people for decades. Don't kid yourself that this is all Trumps' fault - he's just the latest rung in a very long ladder into oblivion...

jimjimjim 8y ago
Many have always been annoyed but there was still a united front against the "opposition" parts of the world, whether militarily, economically or culturally. That united front is being actively dismantled.

krapp 8y ago

I think it's slightly more subtle than that ... he's playing to a feeling amongst certain demographics that their share of America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" has been stolen from them by "globalists" and their foreign allies, and that this need to be pushed back against to return the US to some (apocryphal and mythical) golden age. He's not trying to negotiate as an equal but assert his dominance. He's turning over the tables of the moneychangers and running at the world with a sourge... or at least in his head and the hearts of some of his supporters, he is.

sheepmullet 8y ago
> America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" has been stolen from them Hasn’t it? Imagine if the trillion+ spent in Iraq+Afghanistan had instead been invested in infrastructure in the US. > He's not trying to negotiate as an equal What makes you think that?
rswail 8y ago
That's his populist position that gets him the cheering crowds, but his trade position is based on his complete misunderstanding of how international trade works, how tariffs are a tax on US consumption, and his misconception that trade is a zero sum game, that for every "winner" there is a "loser". Ford isn't going to import the Focus from China, because of Trump's misguided policies. They will sell the production elsewhere. The US is deprived of an efficient small car, but it hasn't gained any employment, production or anything else. Harley Davison will move production of motorcycles to be sold in the EU to the EU and elsewhere. This deprives the US of manufacturing and the associated jobs. It doesn't deprive the EU of Harley Davisons.
mistermann 8y ago
I find this sort of comment very frustrating. Indeed there is some truth in it, but my frustration stems from a complete lack of any indication of the degree to which it is true, or the degree to which Trump supporters believe these things. There is no really good way of knowing what individual people are thinking in their minds, yet an alien reading forum comments might conclude we've mastered mind-reading technology. > he's playing to a feeling Implying any difference of political opinion is based on emotion, rather than logic or a simple difference of opinion. Sometime in the last 10 years or so did we decide The One True Proper Way To Run The World, but it wasn't reported in newspapers? > that their share of America's political, cultural and economic "birthright" They think certain things are a "birthright", as opposed to thinking (correctly or incorrectly) that it is something they have earned? > has been stolen from them by "globalists" and their foreign allies Why is globalists in quotes? In objective reality, is there not a fairly clear distinction between those who are more nationalist in their preferred approach to managing the world's affairs, and those who are more collective/globalist? > and that this need to be pushed back against to return the US to some (apocryphal and mythical) golden age. Must the motivation be returning to a "golden age"? I see the debate over nationalism vs globalism as little different than capitalism vs socialism. The US tends to be somewhat more towards the capitalist end of the spectrum, which yields some good results and some bad, I don't agree with the notion that any of that necessarily "belongs" or must necessarily be shared with the overall world. Demanding "charity" is extremely offensive to me. To be clear, I believe charity is very important and by my morality I essentially consider it a near obligation if things have worked out very well for you in life, but I simultaneously believe that it should be absolutely voluntary. > He's not trying to negotiate as an equal but assert his dominance This sounds lovely at first glance, until you put a little thought into it. Isn't this precisely how one should negotiate? Would you have us believe it is an accepted and widely practiced norm to negotiate in a manner that does not accentuate your strengths, in order to best achieve an agreement most beneficial to your goals? > or at least in his head and the hearts of some of his supporters, he is. Speculation on my part, but this seems fairly inline with the popular notion that Trump lacks or has lost his mental faculties, and his supporters are all motivated purely by uninformed emotions. Again, is an informed, logical, difference of opinion impossible?