Possible conflicts in Ukraine and Taiwan are superficially typical Cold War scenarios. In the past, American responses would have been united and unambiguous. With November mid-terms and a fractured Congress, that’s no longer a realistic expectation.
Between the ever-Putin-obliging Trump and a QAnon-based Senate, getting any kind of coherent response to real world issues is a tough enough proposition as it is. While America has been on this political holiday, destroying its own democracy, the balance of global power has shifted, drastically.
Recent history hasn’t been too kind to America. Humanity has gone elsewhere while America has stumbled along a drunken walk in a bizarre back alley. American global relevance has been sidelined, severely. Its credibility has been truly maimed. Trump’s obsessive isolationism and false, anti-NATO gibberish undermined US credibility severely. Nobody even knew America could make such deranged moves, let alone with public support.
The irony of ironies; the most truly modern country in the world is now faced with a huge, long-overdue bill for equally long-overdue modernization on all levels. The US is now managing none of its major systemic internal problems. That’s entirely thanks to polarized politics. Decrepit infrastructure, social problems, massive crime, and basics like education, housing, quality of life, and health have quite literally had America visibly falling to bits for decades.
Outside the US, it’s been a very different story. America’s rivals aren’t at war with themselves and “going backward on principle”. While America spent decades stagnating, the world moved on. For the last few decades, China has been overhauling the US from a very long way behind. Russia has solidified into a not-very-likable but credible global presence again.
In the West, the contrast is truly stark. Europe is now the biggest trading bloc in the world. Most Western countries have far higher standards of living than the US. Even the decrepit UK, despite the unspeakable absurd imbecility of Brexit and slavish American-style conservatism, retains some core strengths, however badly compromised.
It’s not 1950 anymore, guys
In the past, Cold War scenarios devolved into the US vs bungling bad guys. For sheer ineptitude and mismanagement, the communist bloc took the prize, despite American mistakes.
The perspective has changed, much for the worse. The self-inflicted, self-righteous internal deterioration of America is so bad that even the future is considered irrelevant. Surviving today is quite enough to worry about.
Meanwhile fictional press releases by proven idiots, liars, and sycophants make more money than most Americans make in a year. The average conspiracy theory gets more instant credibility and coverage than Michigan’s long war against contaminated water supplies.
These are the insular mindsets expected to manage real future wars and major confrontations with dangerous, efficient, effective, rivals? How? Do these “just add bucks” cowardly shills suddenly grow IQs containing whole numbers or something? I’ll believe it when I see it.
This time, it’s serious. US military and strategic defeat is possible with a bit of good old-fashioned incompetence. That’s despite the fact that unlike the rest of the rotting nation the US military is still very credible.
This isn’t the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Berlin Wall. If these crises develop, America has a lot to lose.
Worse –
- Neither Russia nor China would tolerate defeat in either Ukraine or Taiwan. There’d have to be an encore, with inevitable escalation in either or both cases.
- Ukraine and Taiwan are actually quite unnecessary conflicts. There’s no need for either situation to happen at all. Ukraine and Taiwan are no threat to anyone. The mere fact that these two definitive sideshows are suddenly major issues means they’re testing America’s willingness to respond.
- US failure would have the worst possible effects on America’s self-image. “Loser” is not a word Americans like applied to them personally, let alone as a nation. The political fallout from defeat would effectively destroy incumbents and promote extremists. Pretty much the same mechanism that’s been destroying America for a while now, but worse.
Now – Got any simplistic, brain-dead, propaganda-soaked rhetoric to go with the problems? How about “Make America Ridiculous Again”? …Because that’s exactly what can happen, very quickly, if America doesn’t get on the same page as reality and stay there.
Just one more thing – History doesn’t forgive failure. Failed nations don’t just get up again and go jogging. Rehab is long and painful. Point made?
