I am loyal to my country, but at this point I am also bitterly embarrassed by it. Donald Trump’s antics are appalling, and in particular, his attempt to demand that Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy sign over hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mineral concessions; this sounds like something that an old fashioned European imperial power would have done on a bad day. I know that the United States does not have an unblemished record in its intercourse with other societies, as an American Indian or a Filipino might testify, but since 1940 or so, despite some ugly actions, we have generally been a force for good, and in particular, for upholding a liberal international order. Trump seems to want to junk all that, and have our Republic act as a predatory empire abroad, while imposing something like Victor Orban’s soft authoritarianism (illiberal democracy) at home, if not a worse regime.
Through the wonders of the Internet, I have read what various Europeans have to say about this, and they do not think well of us, nor should they. Furthermore, Donald Trump, unlike an Athenian archon basileos, did not achieve his position by being drawn by lot. He was elected by tens of millions of Americans who knew or should have known what manner of man he is, who did not regard his attempted putsch in 2021 as a disqualification to ever again hold any position of honor, trust, or profit, and who lacked the wisdom or the sense of responsibility and civic duty to see through his demagoguery. This is a national disgrace.
I hope that better times shall someday come, and I respect those fellow citizens who act as befits patriots and decent human beings. Time will tell whether they are actors in a triumph or a tragedy.
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