Matt, when you say "the abyss that these voters have dragged their country into" it implies that the country isn't already in a dark place. I would argue that it's a matter of perspective. For many Americans, life has been difficult and stressful for quite a long time. For large parts of the rest of the world, US actions have been very damaging and destructive over the past 80 years. So, the abyss has always been there, its just that it was better hidden. It is wrong to think that America is moving from a good place to a bad one. It is actually moving from a bad place to a worse one. Trump will probably make life substantively worse for many, but it is also possible that for the rest of the world, outside Europe, at least, things may improve. He seems to have little interest in anything beyond his own back door. And in his case, this is almost literal, rather than metaphorical. Yes, he has threatened Panama and Greenland, as well as saying ominous things about Gaza and Ukraine, but his real focus is on making life better for himself and his uber-rich cronies. Anything that requires effort that does not do this will probably quickly be dropped.
I agree with most of this Zoltan, as I often do with your incisive comments. I certainly don’t think America was in a good place, though I do think there is a difference between a bad place and an abyss. Regarding Trump having an advertently positive impact on the rest of the world…let’s discuss that again in four years, shall we?
Matt, when you say "the abyss that these voters have dragged their country into" it implies that the country isn't already in a dark place. I would argue that it's a matter of perspective. For many Americans, life has been difficult and stressful for quite a long time. For large parts of the rest of the world, US actions have been very damaging and destructive over the past 80 years. So, the abyss has always been there, its just that it was better hidden. It is wrong to think that America is moving from a good place to a bad one. It is actually moving from a bad place to a worse one. Trump will probably make life substantively worse for many, but it is also possible that for the rest of the world, outside Europe, at least, things may improve. He seems to have little interest in anything beyond his own back door. And in his case, this is almost literal, rather than metaphorical. Yes, he has threatened Panama and Greenland, as well as saying ominous things about Gaza and Ukraine, but his real focus is on making life better for himself and his uber-rich cronies. Anything that requires effort that does not do this will probably quickly be dropped.
I agree with most of this Zoltan, as I often do with your incisive comments. I certainly don’t think America was in a good place, though I do think there is a difference between a bad place and an abyss. Regarding Trump having an advertently positive impact on the rest of the world…let’s discuss that again in four years, shall we?
It’s a lot more coherent than most of the guff he’s spouted in the last couple of years.