My Take | America the irresponsible is a threat to everyone and itself
- Trump is said to have earned the disdain of allies. But despite more refined rhetoric, Biden has repeated, if not expanded, many of his odious policies
Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben famously said that “with great power comes great responsibility”. Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Time magazine declared that America was Spider-Man. My business editor thinks the Republican Party’s rebels must have never read Marvel Comics. Methinks they read too much of it and can’t distinguish cartoons from reality.
After its disastrous two-decade-long “war on terror” and ignominious defeat in Afghanistan, it’s clear America is not Spider-Man but his doppelganger, for whom the motto ought to be “with great power comes great irresponsibility”.
The ongoing political circus in Washington, the latest being the unprecedented ouster of the speaker of the House of Representatives, makes for interesting theatre, were it not for the worldwide ramifications and domestic chaos wrought by a dysfunctional Congress.
The Federal Reserve is now on a dangerous path pushing out the “higher for longer” interest rate environment further into next year. The US government has its fingers stuck in hundreds of pies – from the Ukraine war to climate change – each one of which it seems incapable of resolving. And yet, it wants to start a new cold war with the world’s second-largest economy, a country that has openly and repeatedly said it doesn’t want to fight the US.
America is terribly complacent. It thinks it is in a strong position to deal with not only China and Russia at the same time, but also North Korea and Iran.
It thinks its economy is doing well, and that it continues to lead the world, including China, in technologies, whether it’s artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, computer chips or bioengineering.
That’s “a glass is half full” reading. Other critics have pointed out that the glass is actually worse than half empty. But granted, like everything else, it’s all about interpretations when the “facts” themselves are disputed.