This is what NPR tells us – Trump attack Pakistan in a tweet that say America has “foolishly” given billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan.
One would hope in vain that Tweets from the President might not be quite as influential and unpredictable as they have been in the past, but that is unlikely. As much as anyone tries to dismiss the things said, and tries to put forward the presence of control mechanisms within government as a solution to halt the forward roll, it doesn’t seem to have been panning out that way for the last year.
I still see a lot of people who think that he is the best thing to have happened to the US, but I don’t agree. Some might argue that not being a native born American that my opinion doesn’t count, but a ten year investment in the country by me, I think, gives me a solid position to argue otherwise. Anyway – speaking your mind, as I am sure I have said elsewhere, does not equate with honesty.
Bullying tactics instead of diplomacy doesn’t do much more than to inflame other people. Americans not talking to anyone outside their echo chamber and taking no notice of opposing viewpoints plays out on a local, national and international level. Politicians aren’t meant to merely talk to their own base and to represent them – they are supposed to represent all of their constituents. The Constitution allows for differing opinions, encourages dialogue, and is built on the acknowledged differences of the people of the United States.
I have never been partial to bi-partisan politics because I saw how it did nothing to help in the UK. The emergence of other voices in the political sphere, and the wealth of platforms that have arisen since I was growing up offered a response to the party line that differed, and that spoke for others than those in the positions of power, and for others than those with ties to the private sector.
I identify as liberal with a small l, and feel myself to be distinct from the American conflation of liberal and democrat. I intend to start digging in a little deeper this year, and offering up what I suppose will be fact based opinion columns.
Life is a learning experience, so I will be sharing what I have learnt and a learning.