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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026

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While I more or less agree with your assessment on Trump and how it is easy to overly rationalize things like this, I still believe it is a valuable discussion, beyond just training my analytical skills. Unlike Russia and China, the USA is not (yet) a dictatorship in which the leader has unchecked power. While Trump's tweets may simply be the erratic work of a narcissist, the overall foreign policy can only happen if supported by the larger state apparatus. Thus, it is clear at this point that the negotiation strategy of applying as much pressure as possible and using every piece of leverage available, including shattering the final vestiges of a world order that has existed since the end of the cold war, is a stance supported by the majority of the US government. If acquiring Greenland is such an important goal to the US that this is now official foreign policy, I think it makes sense to look for a semblance of rationality. Only if no satisfying answer can be found, should we conclude that this behavior is as psychotic as it seems on the surface.