Russia, America, and the Rest of the World
Trump - Russian Ally or Copy Cat?#
Russia has been our adversary since the end of WWII. The Cold War faded, but it never fully ended. Tensions have remained high, even if a hot war was no longer on the horizon. We always saw our two nations as incompatible - the values of the west and the east are like oil and water, we assumed they just wouldn’t mix.
However, all that seems to be changing now. With the war in Ukraine I always worried we were getting closer to a hot war with Russia, but now it seems we are either their best friend or are simply taking a page out of their playbook. We have stopped sending aid to Ukraine, announced we will be looking to relieve Russia of the sanctions we placed on them, criticized NATO for allowing new members, and so much more. It seems like we are simply doing the exact steps that Putin would have asked for us to do if he was in charge.
This is in stark contrast to our traditional allies, who continue to stand strong with Ukraine. We have betrayed them at every turn this administration. We have levied or threatened to levy tariffs on their goods. We have threatened their sovereignty and safety. We are considering removing ourselves from the institutions we build with them.
The only question I can think to ask is for what? The answer I have heard most commonly to answer this is that we are simply setting up for further negotiations. Negotiations to what end? We are the richest and most powerful nation in the world, what do we have to gain by shaking up the system? I have also heard that it is to display our strength. Displaying our strength would be done by furthering our support of our allies, and showing those who would threaten freedom and democracy that we will not allow it. Instead we seem so eager to bend the knee to Russia, and allow them to take what they want. Appeasement is a strategy that did not stop the second world war, nor do I expect it would stop the third.
What about inside the country?#
Internally, we also appear to be taking a page out of the Russian playbook, and moving closer to oligarchy every day. Elon Musk is the most obvious and heinous example of how much power is up for sale, but there have been many smaller examples as well. One of his DOGE employees who is in charge of the US payment systems while also controlling companies with millions in government contracts. Most of Trump’s cabinet hold no qualifications to their jobs, but are simply yes men. Many in the top military leadership are being cleared out in favor of those who will carry out Trump’s wishes with little pushback.
The government programs that keep us safe and progressing are being gutted, and it is not to save you on your taxes. It is to get tax cuts for the ultra wealthy, and to privatize those businesses to continue extracting more wealth from you and your family. Trump and Elon are ultra rich and do not give a shit about the common man, and it is hard for me to understand why so much of the country think that they do when every action they take speaks to the contrary.
I plan to revisit this topic and make my thoughts more fleshed out and more coherent, but with things moving as fast as they are, I just needed to scream into the void for a bit.