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> the US completely destroyed its soft power this week Soft power sounds like manipulation to me. So if we destroyed our manipulation, great. The United States

by jimmar 2y ago

> the US completely destroyed its soft power this week Soft power sounds like manipulation to me. So if we destroyed our manipulation, great. The United States has put its fingers on too many scales rather than respecting the rights of individuals in other countries to manage their affairs the way they see fit. I welcome tech competition from Europe. Let the best products and services win.

gcr 2y ago
Yes, and. Something like 40% of the humanitarian contribution in the world came from USAID, and Thanos just fingersnapped it out of existence last Tuesday. Until that gap is filled, there will be tons of unnecessary suffering. A "more humane" way would have been to slowly wind down over a period of months/years, giving the market time to react. Even better would have been to work with foreign powers to spin off USAID-backed initiatives and transfer control+funding responsibility to them, but I'm just a girl with a unrealistic dream at that point
- amanaplanacanal 2y ago
  I think it's not talked about enough that some of the new president's policies are going to lead to actual people dieing. Not just overseas, but in the US too. Maybe the folks cheering him on don't realize this, or maybe they just don't care.
  - jimmar 2y ago
    There's a big difference between sending a foreign country vaccines and organizing protests in foreign countries to further a political or economic agenda. I'm all for the former, not the latter.
    - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
      The thing is, you don't get to choose. Once somebody is elected, you get the whole package.
D13Fd 2y ago
> Soft power sounds like manipulation to me. So if we destroyed our manipulation, great. Wow. So hard power -- literally killing others -- is OK, but "manipulating" them is not? The fact is, power is power, "soft" or "hard," and we are discarding ours for nothing. Also, alliances are not "manipulation." Working together against a common foe is not manipulation. Trade agreements are not manipulation.
- jimmar 2y ago
  > Wow. So hard power -- literally killing others -- is OK I'm not sure where you read that in my comment. That's not something I wrote, and it's not something I believe.

by jimmar 2y ago

gcr 2y ago

Yes, and. Something like 40% of the humanitarian contribution in the world came from USAID, and Thanos just fingersnapped it out of existence last Tuesday. Until that gap is filled, there will be tons of unnecessary suffering. A "more humane" way would have been to slowly wind down over a period of months/years, giving the market time to react. Even better would have been to work with foreign powers to spin off USAID-backed initiatives and transfer control+funding responsibility to them, but I'm just a girl with a unrealistic dream at that point

amanaplanacanal 2y ago
I think it's not talked about enough that some of the new president's policies are going to lead to actual people dieing. Not just overseas, but in the US too. Maybe the folks cheering him on don't realize this, or maybe they just don't care.
- jimmar 2y ago
  There's a big difference between sending a foreign country vaccines and organizing protests in foreign countries to further a political or economic agenda. I'm all for the former, not the latter.
  - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
    The thing is, you don't get to choose. Once somebody is elected, you get the whole package.

D13Fd 2y ago

> Soft power sounds like manipulation to me. So if we destroyed our manipulation, great. Wow. So hard power -- literally killing others -- is OK, but "manipulating" them is not? The fact is, power is power, "soft" or "hard," and we are discarding ours for nothing. Also, alliances are not "manipulation." Working together against a common foe is not manipulation. Trade agreements are not manipulation.

jimmar 2y ago
> Wow. So hard power -- literally killing others -- is OK I'm not sure where you read that in my comment. That's not something I wrote, and it's not something I believe.