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No Sympathy, No Charity's avatar

I can’t like this post enough, JVL. Fumbling the bag when you are leading the most powerful nation in the history of the world is truly impressive. I don’t understand how people can’t see that soft power (spending money, exporting culture, etc) not only helped to end the Cold War, it’s going to help us beat China in this Great Power Competition. To me, this is the height of the ennui that Tom Nichols talks about so much. We are so bored with our wealth and success that we are willing to burn it all down senselessly. All to save PENNIES a year.

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Tim Coffey's avatar

I don't entirely agree with JVL's ultimate conclusion, "Trump Forever". I think Trump is a figurehead of something more sinister, which is an extreme right wing movement that not only rejects the idea of American soft power, but America's founding principles. These people believe in some serious "throne and altar" bullshit. Trump's just the means to get to their ultimate ends, and they've been successful at convincing half of the electorate to burn the whole country down.

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