u/lji-1

Trump severely underestimated Iran as an enemy. He thought it was a house of cards, where if you pull out one card. the whole thing collapses. But the Iranian government is resilient, it's been planning for an American and/or Israeli attack for decades. It dug in, and it advised its proxy forces, Hamas and Hezbollah, to dig in too. And for every member of the Iranian government and the IRGC, there's a line of succession that goes at least five or six people deep. Iranians are not stupid. Persian culture is one of the oldest and most sophisticated cultures in world history. Any country that can enrich uranium is sophisticated. Yet Trump treats Iran like it's one bad day away from being the next Libya, Somalia, or Haiti.

I tend to complain a lot about the government, but I actually have some constructive ideas about how we can improve America. In my opinion, the balance of power in the US has to be reset to give individuals more wealth and agency, and to temper the agency, power, and wealth of corporations and wealthy individuals. Which doesn’t mean we should adopt socialism, communism, or Marxism, it simply means capitalism needs to be regulated and taxed better. Ever since the 1990s or so, the US has been very, very, pro corporation. And that’s fine, we should not be anti-corporation, but I feel we went too far with our pro-corporation attitude, at the expense of our pro-individual attitude. We need a reset to a place that’s a lot more humanist, that puts the rights, and the health and welfare of individuals on a stronger foundation.

Trump famously deploys a strategy of “FLOOD THE ZONE” with information and activity and with the decisions that he makes. It's the concept of trying to drink from the fire hose, which is impossible. And a lot of people think that this is a great strategy, that it puts the media and the opposition, namely Democrats, in a difficult position, where they are paralyzed and unable to react. And that may or may not be true, but there's another component to this that I think isn't getting discussed. And that component is this: it's exhausting. It's exhausting for the average American. It's exhausting for the average American voter to be overwhelmed with all of this activity and change from Trump.

Trump is not a humanist. MAGA isn't humanist either. The Republican Party no longer believes in humanism. Humanism is a belief system that focuses on the innate value of human beings. It accepts that every human being has value and worth. Humanism recognizes that every human being has human rights, and that governments, communities, and nations preserve and protect these rights. Humanism recognizes that every human being has common needs that we all share. And that, as social animals, humans meet those needs together as a community, large or small. Humanism believes that humans can improve the material conditions of human life, that we do not need to look to the metaphysical or the divine to solve our problems. Which isn't to say we shouldn't be spiritual or religious, it simply means that human beings themselves have agency and autonomy, given to them by their maker, to make their lives better. Which is to say we don't have to pray for change, we can make change, which is the way our maker wants it.

In looking at the geopolitical climate on planet earth right now, things are not looking so good for the United States of America. We are isolating ourselves, we are self-isolating. It turns out this is the doctrine of Trumpism: American First means America Alone. America is a strong and wealthy nation, and we got here by forming partnerships and allies, and by global trade. If we cut off these relationships and this trade, we won’t be as strong or wealthy.

Criticizing U.S. president Donald Trump for being hypocritical doesn't work. Because hypocrisy is the point. Just as people say that Trump’s cruelty is the point, his hypocrisy is the point too. Trump and his administration are not interested in equality or fair play. They’re trying to create an elite aristocracy of white men to rule America. They’re trying to make a two-tiered system where white men have superior rights, privileges, and protections than everyone else. Therefore, when you point out that they're contradicting themselves and they're not offering the same consideration to people who aren't them, they simply don't care. The hypocrisy is the point. The double standard is the point. The discrimination is the point, despite what it might say in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The cruelty and the hypocrisy are the point, because Trump and MAGA are all about power and using power. Powerful, is what they want to be, and they don't care if it's hypocritical or sadistic.

In looking at the geopolitical climate on planet earth right now, things are not looking good for the United States of America.