“American officials seem to be more interested in deference than democracy” (Jan. 5, A1):
Through the Chilly Conflict a long time, there was a nationwide narrative of our nation as a bulwark of democracy and freedom towards the threats offered by the Soviet Union and its empire. For all the hypocrisies and inconsistencies on this self-congratulatory framing, there have been nonetheless many crucial realities within the variations between us.
The unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, a kleptocracy dominated by a brutal autocrat and his regime-bowing oligarchs, offered a brand new model of our previous narrative, because the U.S. and our European allies sought to help Ukraine’s resistance to army aggression by a robust neighbor bent on takeover and dominance.
Now, in a transfer extra befitting a mob boss seizing a weaker competitor’s turf, an American president has directed the kidnapping of a overseas chief and his spouse in a blatant oil seize, introduced that we’ll “run” Venezuela and invited American company pursuits to assist seize the spoils. Little doubt this may contain the kinds of bend-the-knee expectations and private corruption that each one too typically have marked the newest Trump administration. This follows quite a few disgraceful lethal assaults on civilians in worldwide waters.
Are People actually OK with all of this?
Michael Pierson, Seattle
