November 22, 2023

Whatever your news source, there is a consensus among most that the world is a tinderbox with more chaos and danger than many can recall within their lifetime.  Sixty years ago, I grew up during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  People were scared, but the fear was binary, with almost everyone equally frightened about what Khrushchev might do.  But now, there is a sense of what you might call “Fear de Jour.” You no sooner begin to relax from one monumental crisis before something worse occurs.  Perhaps never in my life have so many balls been in the air simultaneously.  All are overlayed by an apparent lack of cohesive and reassuring leadership that suggests to many that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, except perhaps an oncoming speeding train.  I’ve never experienced such general hopelessness about our future from so many.

‘); googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1609268089992-0’); }); document.write(”); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().addEventListener(‘slotRenderEnded’, function(event) { if (event.slot.getSlotElementId() == “div-hre-Americanthinker—New-3028”) { googletag.display(“div-hre-Americanthinker—New-3028”); } }); }); }

Compare and contrast the two very different leadership styles of Biden and Trump and their likely effect on world events.  We’ll imagine how each man faces the same crises Biden is currently dealing with. 

Israel vs. Hamas.  Most Americans over 35 likely side with Israel with zero compromise.  But under 35, a ruined generation is less sure.  Biden looks at the problem (or his brain trust does) as a political issue to be solved… politically, i.e., it doesn’t matter who is right, only the effect it has on the administration’s prospects in the next election. 

Trump famously sees things through his own lens.  His only interest is what’s best for our country and her friends.  Israel is a friend; Iran and the minions it controls are not. Therefore, siding with Israel is a choice that is easy to make.  In today’s “I’m OK, You’re OK” world, binary choices are rejected on principle because you exclude other opinions, making each issue one of equivalence.  Dems can’t seem to make the required black-or-white choice because they hold a coalition of different views and interests. Many Democrats no longer believe in their former moderate positions.  This confines them into a box of their own making.

‘); googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1609270365559-0’); }); document.write(”); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.pubads().addEventListener(‘slotRenderEnded’, function(event) { if (event.slot.getSlotElementId() == “div-hre-Americanthinker—New-3035”) { googletag.display(“div-hre-Americanthinker—New-3035”); } }); }); }

Global Warming.  The rhetoric surrounding global warming is as sharp as ever, and the direction we are moving towards is decidedly Alt-Left.  Discretionary spending by Biden and bills like the so-called Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have placed the country on an unsustainable financial path.  The government has committed trillions of inflationary dollars to the Green New Deal.  Trillions more will be spent through coercive government rules and mandates ranging from Zero Emission air travel requirements to the cars you can buy, the houses you live in, how you cook, what you eat, and much more.  You will have little choice but to obey your leaders tomorrow because consumer choice will be limited or nonexistent.  We will have hobbled ourselves with a tremendous economic disadvantage compared to the rest of the world.

President Trump does not believe that global warming is an existential crisis.  Instead, he thinks it is an opportunity and challenge to be met not with fear but with an American “Can Do” attitude.  Instead of fear, we would see the U.S., already among the world’s cleanest industrial countries, realize our competitors in China and elsewhere never intended to follow our lead and burden ourselves with our positions’ economic disadvantages.

Inflation.  The higher your income, the more you rely on your savings and retirement money to get by.  Inflation results from too many dollars chasing too few products and services. 

Inflation is pernicious, particularly ruthless in its effect on middle and low-income Americans.  Most of these groups are starting to rely more on the government to get by through various programs designed to ameliorate some of the effects, such as food or housing.  Inflation continues to ravage us despite the Biden Administration’s assurances to the contrary.  Ever more people are tapping their credit cards for monthly subsistence even as credit card rates hover around the 28% mark.

When Trump left office, inflation was at less than 1.5%.  Inflation can be directly tied to the spending programs that Biden initiated and pushed through — Basic Economics 101. 

Ukraine.  You’ve heard crickets about Ukraine since the October 7th massacre in Israel.  Yet, in terms of geopolitical importance, Ukraine is the lynchpin that connects Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.  We dare not take our eyes off the ball.  We must think strategically.  Unfortunately, with a weak President, we engage in focus-tested and consensus politics, unable or unwilling to grasp the ramifications of a world being carved up by a bunch of hungry bullies.