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How'd that age in 10 years? I'm not sure if it's gotten worse, or I've gotten more aware of it, but the level of corruption in the US government appears to me to have reached an extinction level event. They've sold off our proverbial seed corn to our strategic enemies, and are oblivious the suffering they've unleashed on the people they purport to represent from their mansions and yachts.
It's remarkable how even now, when people are starting to realize how truly fucked we are with Russia and China doing breath play with our economy, our elites are still mostly selling out to them. Last I heard all our tariff's on Russian oil have just allowed middle men to buy it at a higher price from Russia, enriching Russia, jack up the price even more enriching themselves, and selling it to Europe and America impoverishing us.
Apparently we've enormously depleted our stocks of many vital munitions sending them willy nilly to Ukraine, with zero accountable or tracking what so ever. Stocks that will take years to even begin un-mothballing the assembly lines for, because apparently we believed we never needed to make stinger missiles ever again?
It's hard for me to even count all the ways our government has fucked us, personally, tactically, strategically. It's like they are trying to end the nation, and our lives as we know it. And that they might be doing it to enrich themselves is literally the best case. The worst case is they are beholden to a cult of fucking Malthusians.
The world to me now is unrecognizable from before 9/11. Before 9/11, political correctness was more or less defeated. Now it dominates my life more than ever. Before 9/11 I actually had some sense of freedom and liberty, even in the most simple of acts of loitering almost wherever I pleased, and nobody had to know my business. Even before COVID, security theatre around shopping and entertainment, to say nothing of travel, was overbearing. The fever pitch of masks and vaccines being mandatory to do nearly anything has passed, but I don't trust it. I feel like after midterms, the D's will bust it right back out again because fuck you, that's why.
I think your dislike of political enemies is spilling into your assessment of geopolitics. I can’t see the last few year’s events as anything but a win for US hegemony. Russia’s prestige is at its lowest point since the fall of the USSR, and China, wih its turn to dogmatic authoritarianism exemplified by its zero covid policy, and looming real estate crisis, is losing influence and slowing down. From their tepid response to western sanctions towards their ally, it doesn’t look like they think they have a great deal of leverage in an economic war against the west.
Being self-sufficient, high oil prices shouldn’t concern you, they’re probably good for you relatively speaking, they hurt china and makes europe more dependent on you. Only russia could benefit, but they’ve helpfully decided to waste it all on some lost cause.
You’ve depleted munitions, but unless you were planning on the mother of all land battles against china for control over eurasia in the next five years, I don’t see how that should affect you. Medium term, you’ve gained greater capacity and more committed allies.
Yes, I mentioned back on the previous place that the Ukraine invasion seemed to be benefiting the US most of all -- China is still chasing its tail over its own virus (and honestly calling China an ally of Russia is vastly overstating the case), European industry is crippled by loss of natural gas, and the US proper is relatively unaffected. The US would likely be absolutely better off if the invasion (and certainly COVID) had not happened, but relatively, the US is ahead.
I don't believe the shadowy rulers of the American hegemony planned this; they just ain't that bright. But it sure is curious it worked out that way.
Yeah, I've never been much convinced by that take that the Ukraine invasion is Good For China because, now that Russia is an international pariah, it's more dependent on China. Inasmuch as they had a good relationship before, it would seem like Russia losing ability to pull its own weight wouldn't be a good thing for the two of them.
As an analogy, if the UK made itself an international pariah, would that be Good For America because now the UK was more dependent on it? No, I expect the take would be this would mean a shameful weakening of the entire Anglo power block.
'Anglo power block' is laughable. The entire world has known and been laughing at Britain as America's lapdog since Tony Blair. It became that obvious. Brits have been relegated to America's sinister lackeys in the eyes of non-westerns.
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