Dear America,
I'm from New York, so I have been forced to watch Donald Trump manifest his odious nature in many ways over the decades. It has been unpleasant, but until he became president I could ignore him. Now, of course, I do not have that luxury, which is just a personal burden to bear, but the nation's future is being effected. Trump's pettiness, narcissism, conceit, braggadocio, ad hominem imprecation of every critic, vitriol, shamelessness, deceitfulness, perfidy, disloyalty, self-dealing and general lack of either morality or principle are becoming emblematic of the United States. Frankly, I don't much care whether the rest of the world likes us as long as they leave us alone, but the impression of the international community does matter in this one respect. What will happen when something occurs that we can't handle alone? Who will ally with us if we are not faithful allies of others? Will any other country ever be willing to come to the aid of the United States again?
Assuming that Trump is either convicted upon impeachment or ousted in the 2020 election, we might have a chance to apologize to the rest of the world, so to speak. We can reaffirm our loyalty to principles that are engrained in the American ethos and have been for centuries by acting as we always have vis-à-vis both our allies and our adversaries in principle. It will take awhile to reassure what has been our international family, but over a decade during which our electorate stays constant to, and continuously advocates for, the civil and prudent definition and conduct of our affairs by electing decent human beings to high office rather than miscreants like Trump, we can redeem ourselves. What is important about doing so is that we have adversaries in the world, and they are becoming stronger. China and Russia are gaining in lethality when it comes to fundamental features of freedom and democracy, and as a matter of fealty to our foundational values, we will need to defend them, perhaps even militarily. Those two countries primarily, but those that align themselves with them as well, are becoming increasingly acquisitive--even imperialistic--and territory like Pacific islands and central Asian countries like Tibet and Nepal will need at least allies if not outright defending as what we might start calling the "red forces" in the world attempt to dominate it. We have always been the core of such alliances and defenses, but if the world doesn't trust us to be so, what will the world be willing to do for us when those red forces threaten us.
I believe that we must begin thinking about a future that may not yet be in sight. We must consider what the world will be like a hundred years from now when, if China and Russia continue on their current paths, the most powerful countries in the world won't be a class of nations that includes the United States. If it comes to such a point, we will not want to, and perhaps not be able to, stand alone. That is the future that a successful continuation of the Trump era portends. And if Trump were reelected in 2020, there is no way to rely on the 22nd amendment to protect us from a third or even a fourth Trump term. At a recent rally, the crowd began chanting the traditional "four more years," and Trump's response was something like, if you want to freak them out, meaning his adversaries, call for twelve more years. When I heard him say that I felt near panic. I have considered, and even written about the threat of repeal of the 22nd, but it seemed only some remote, dystopian horror for Hollywood to contemplate on film. But now Trump has actually broached the subject. Now it is a serious threat to civilization as we know it. It is as dire and the prospect of Adolph Hitler being reincarnated as our president.
Worst of all to me is that no one even mentioned Trump's reference to twelve more years. In light of his sycophantic relationship with Vladimir Putin and his praise of R.T. Erdogan as a powerful leader and a "good friend of [his]," the threat of Trump's pursuit of lifetime autocracy like Putin's and Erdogan's--and you might as well throw in that of Chinese president Xi--becomes not just real but palpable. Given what Trump has already shown us, he might pursue such a goal out of nothing more than sheer vanity, which he wears on his sleeve like a chevron. We must all take the threat to our way of life that Trump constitutes seriously. His overt consideration of even more than one more term is a less than veiled threat. We should heed it.
Your friend,
Mike
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