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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
A prime time current affairs programme; a discussion about Donald Trump’s handling of the war in Ukraine. “He’s doing excellent things,” says a firebrand politician on the panel, before listing White House actions that have belittled Volodymyr Zelenskyy and weakened his battlefield position – military aid suspended; satellite communications obstructed; intelligence withheld. “Do we support this?” It is a rhetorical question.
“We support it all. Absolutely,” the celebrity host responds. “We are thrilled by everything Trump is doing.”
Look, I understand that the US has a complicated history, but on the whole, I think we’ve aspired to be “good guys” in the history books.
But in this very moment, I’m not quite so sure of that. I really don’t want us to be the villains.
We’re going to need to fight the bad guys who’ve taken root and get our country back.
I realize the media can and does sometimes frame politicians in the worst light possible. But my god, seeing full sessions, not just short clips of the current president and vice president (especially the Selensky debacle in the White house)… they really are acting like comic-book stooges in front of cameras
I really don’t know where this good guy idea or narrative comes from besides propaganda and Hollywood obviously.
It’s such a short lived nation and during that time it’s conducted a genocide(s) of natives, coups of democratically elected governments, war on almost every continent on earth. It’s the only nation ever to nuke two cities of civilians. It created a ‘war on drugs’ to incarcerate blacks. Has the highest prison (legally slaves) population of any western nation 1.8 million!!. It forced neoliberalism on Europe and the west in general. Had and has the highest per capita carbon impact in the world. Actively suppressed climate change knowledge and mitigation research the world over. Oh yea and chemical weapons on the Vietnamese, rape and torture of detainees and civilians.
And that’s just a few tid-bits and not including anything the orange one has done and will do.
I’m not saying other nations are spotless. The US has done some great things but clearly it’s institutions are fragile and it can only do great things in brief periods e.g. where it dominated the world economically and industrially after WW2. Reading the history of the US it is just a faster version of European powers development. Nothing special and it’s got a king back after all that bleating on about freedom.
I liked the USA as a child. I love the idea of it but the reality is nowhere near that idea and further everyday. It’s just another banana republic and we unfortunately have to watch the fire sale.