| This day has been decades in the making. I'm thinking 1,000 years from now they'll pinpoint the start of the transition of America from a democracy to whatever it is we're transitioning to as starting with the Nixon administration. One thing I think you're feeling is the end of the post-war period. WWII shaped global politics for the latter half of the 20th century. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but that war ended 80 years ago. We're entering a new global era. What does that era look like? It's in transition. The US wants to retain its global preeminence and based off the election results, believes winding the clock back to the first decade after WWII is the best way to achieve that. The US literally wants to return to 70 years ago without paying attention that the world has moved on. It should be obvious to anyone with even a scant knowledge of history that effort is futile and will end in failure. What does failure mean? The US is unlikely to be the dominant political power in the latter half of the 21st century. Other countries recognize this and are positioning themselves to take the reins. Russia is one of those countries, but they too want to rewind the clock back several decades to when the Soviets were great. That endeavor will likely fail. China on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. The 20th century was rough for them, so no living person has a memory of better times. The better times are right now. Hence, China is moving forward instead of looking backward like the US and Russia are. The smart money is on China being the most influential political power in the latter half of the 21st century (and maybe before). That's the other thing I think you're feeling - the tectonic shift of power from the Occident to the Orient. The Occident have been dominating global politics and global trade for some 2,500 years. Now it's shifting to the Orient. I think part of the conflict in America that you're seeing is businessmen have already accepted that China is the future - they're the largest export market and there's room for a lot of growth. Main street is a different matter, everyday Americans are accustomed to living in a country that's the most dominant country on earth and they sense that's being lost - and it is. The irony is Americans are doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing in order to retain their power and influence. Then again, nobody ever accused Americans of being a smart bunch. Tying this back to the Nixon administration, I think Henry Kissinger laid the groundwork for the US to maintain relevancy in a China-dominated world, so long as we don't screw it up. Seeing as how America is sending an idiot, conman, and grifter to the oval office, I don't see how it's possible we don't screw it up. That's my take on where we stand. |