Attacking the United States
Honest Abe’s quote here is both interesting and inspiring, but is it true?
Both China and Russia are in the process of driving the United States into obscurity and irrelevance, each using its own weaponry–both clever in their own regard, and neither by threat of military force.
China is tearing us apart economically slowly but surely; per their cultural norms, they’re in it for the long haul. We’re seeing them convert a centrally planned, closed economy to become a global manufacturing and exporting hub, which is why they’re often called the “world’s factory.” Pushing them along is their aggressive investment in technology–especially cleantech; where do you think all these solar panels are coming from? In addition, they don’t play fairly re: currency, state subsidies and product dumping, environmental controls, and workers’ rights.
Russia by contrast is actively destroying our most precious asset: our democracy; they just want the world position they had before the Bolshevik Revolution. It may be that Trump knew nothing about this, but it’s certain that Russia helped him win the 2016 election and weakened the fabric of American society, largely via the dissemination of fake news on social media and the fomenting of racial tension. This is the conclusion reached by every one of our 16 different intelligence agencies.
Back to Lincoln’s quote, it actually could be said that we’re destroying ourselves. Tellingly, we’re doing little if anything to prevent a reprise of Russian interference in 2020; we’re actually blocking Congressional attempts to prevent this.
If we allow our democracy to fall apart in front of our eyes, we will have richly deserved our fate.
Craig,
Well it’s taken a long time for you to understand the threat from China, and even then you don’t seem to quite grasp the reality.
China is not adopting “clean tech” for the reasons you imagine. Nor does it see Solar or Wind as major Clean(er) Technologies. China remains committed to nuclear and fossil fuel, especially coal fired technology.
China has literally stolen (or copied)the most promising R&D in this field. It wasn’t exactly difficult as during the Obama years most of this research was actively discouraged in the Wes. The Chinese and Indians were able to easily acquire and even take over billions of dollars worth of research for virtually nothing.
The strategy was brilliant. While the Western world pursued anti-industrial, noncompetitive technologies, China and India concentrated on efficient, low cost-industrial energy production that not only provides price advantages in western markets but allowed them to capture developing nations once considered the province of western influence.
I don’t understand your passionate fear of Russia. You seem to believe Russia still has the power and strength of the old USSR about 1965!
The nation of Russia today, is an economic midget. Russia had very little to do with the result of the 2016 election. The loss by Hilary Clinton and the Democrats was solely due to the American working and rural class didn’t like her, or her message.
President Trump read the mood and appealed directly to these voters through social media and rallies. The Democrats still can’t accept the obvious fact that working class Americans rejected democrat candidates drunk on their own hubris.
Russia is a sideshow. A distraction from the real contest with an emerging China.
As for “democracy” or elected representative government, US democracy is in more danger from Facebook,Google and Amazon etc, than a bankrupt Russia!