Talking turkey: Trump’s America is hostile to our way of life, right?
Image from Pixabay
After Donald Trump’s blistering broadside against America’s supposed allies – i.e., countries in Europe – a disturbing thought comes to mind. Perhaps the United States is hostile to our way of life.
It is, isn’t it?
Why else would the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy promise to use American diplomacy to promote “patriotic” parties in Europe? That is code for the far right.
Why else would Mr Trump have told Politico’s Dasha Burns that most European nations are “decaying” and they’re led by “weak” people? That’s code for Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Fredrich Merz, among others.
All of this sounds pretty hostile to our way of life.
When I say “our” way of life, I mean all of us who live in countries that are not like the United States as it is today.
That is, our countries are not ruled by strong men. Our government doesn’t openly flaunt its persuadability with regard to decisions, by means of flattery, contracts, family links, whatever. Our heads of state and / or government are not willing to investigate foreign political opponents and / or pardon them on the say-so of overseas players.
Additionally, the non-American parts of the world don’t seem prepared to casually – in words issuing from the very top of government – hurl hurtful words at newcomers, recent-comers, the vulnerable, the marginalised. Please note, I’m not saying non-US nations don’t ever behave like that, just that they don’t generally do it in the open, nor acknowledge or celebrate it.
Neither do they try to strongarm everyone else to replicate their action, possibly because they know they won’t succeed. In Mr Trump’s words, if you’re neither powerhouse or power-broker, you just don’t “have the cards”.
Does Europe have the cards? Does Mr Trump think a relatively free-thinking Europe shouldn’t have any cards, at least until it flips to the political far right?
What happens if Europe doesn’t turn full right?
Will Trumps’ America be hostile to our way of life until we flip? Because it is, isn’t it?
