re: Tucker interview with Mike Benz on USAID scandal. Discussion of how to move forward

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t's funny you started this thread because I just read piece from Chris Hedges that was a little confusing to me at first. Chris goes on and on about how USAID is a tool of empire. So, I think he would celebrate its dismantling. But, his point seems to be that the ripping apart of a power structure like USAID will hasten our collapse. Most people won't like this because Chris is pretty far left and critical of Trump.

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I tend to agree with his analysis. I think a lot of what the MAGA movement professes to want to do to restore American Greatness are the precise moves one would do if they wanted to accelerate the erosion of US global hegemony. My belief is the modern "populist right" is really astroturfed by the elites as an off-ramp for the US as the central node of global capitalism.

The coarsening of our relationships with other nations by the rug pull of aid used to keep "friends" and financial sanctions for those who are not being "friendly" is exactly how you push nations towards the Chinese financial system and programs like the Belt and Road Initiative.

We are being sent down a path where our grandkids will be eating miserable Brit cuisine like beans and toast because we lost the mantle as the center of global capital like the Dutch and British before us.

This video/thread needs to be stickied, and everyone needs to watch it. I just watched the whole thing. And the comments within this thread are amazingly thoughtful, seriously.

It's sickening, empowering, sobering, and hopeful.

Needing a corrupt “blob” to destabilize foreign nations in order to maintain our consumerism way of life is total bullshite.

For the majority of this country’s existence, we were just fine without systematic regime change across the globe.

If we need to topple governments so we can import gum to make fricking pencil erasers then we shouldn’t exist at all as a nation. Just plant our own damn gum trees if the other nation doesnt want to play ball.

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KosmoCramer

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Thanks bubba. I was trying to pause and be really sincere and reflective, and the overall response isn’t exactly encouraging.

Yesterday I was arguing that there are signs in both parties (but more clearly in the liberal think tanks) that they are carefully starting to admit that democracy is dangerous and is being degraded. It’s important to try to understand why they are saying this and where that leads rather than just laugh at it.

I made some points that I think it’s likely in the future the country becomes authoritarian in some capacity because I don’t see how you keep a country functional when no one believes in the institutions or the media anymore and that it isn’t sustainable. SFP did a back and forth with me, and I actually like him and enjoy the depth of counter perspective he brings to the table, but he never responded to the last post I made (which I’ll post below), and that was not a good indicator to me, as he is so skilled at arguing his way out of any framing.

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People just need to stop being so emotional and allowing social media to create the echo chambers reinforcing this fear-anger response causing this polarity.

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The problem with this simple statement is that it’s coming on the heels of revelations that the US government has been issuing billions of dollars for foreign and domestic subversion, censorship, and extremely unpopular immigration coordination efforts.

The few people who were keenly aware of this kind of thing for years were lambasted and scorned as delusional conspiracy theorists from educated classical liberals like you. So not only are they totally vindicated, but they are also angry.

You aren’t taking these matters as seriously as you should. What would be your message to these people? Has your own faith not been shaken to a degree as well? And if it hasn’t, how do you explain that?

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