Watched this video earlier.
And while he talked quite extensively about Americans losing their will to sacrifice in order to win wars and thus continue to dominate world affairs, he makes some very solid points. You can make the argument that in the three wars which, arguably, the United States was on the losing side of, the enemy country that we were fighting showed more willingness to sacrifice and suffer losses. That was true in Vietnam, as well as in more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran clearly has learned that lesson, as they survived the early barrage and then seem to be waiting out the American war effort, knowing that the political price seems to be too much for most Americans to bear. In point of fact, Iran appears stronger than most people - myself included - thought they were, because they have done some things (controlling the Straight of Hormuz, and generally standing up to the might of the American military) then they seemed to be before the war. Too often in recent wars, the United States swaggered in thinking that they would show off their military might, and instead eventually retreated having instead displayed the limitations of our military capabilities.
Indeed, more Americans (myself included) are wondering why we spend a fortune to fund an American military industrial complex empire and to fund unpopular, immoral, and often illegal wars in order to try and bully other countries to do things our way. Frankly, he almost seems to be suggesting that the way for the country to grow or remain strong is to allow sacrifices of war to become acceptable. Personally, that is where I would differ, because history shows that too many unnecessary wars is, more often than not, the real reason why empires see their status and power compromised. These wars chip away at a nation (or empire's) image and the perception of them as relevant, even dominant, slows fades. How much stronger would we be as a nation if we never had gotten involved with Iraq or Afghanistan or, now, Iran? I would argue that part of the reason for our decline, and for why the world views the United States with more distrust and skepticism now, is because the United States grew a little too comfortable with trying to bully and threaten other countries and to fight never-ending wars.
That is not what Paul Warburg is saying here, of course. But I suspect that it is the reason why Americans began to question the wars we were getting involved in. Also, personally, i suspect that the price, literally and figuratively, of sustaining our world empire began to weaken and ultimately sink us as a nation. The military industrial complex which Eisenhower once warned us about has become this bottomless pit where we throw money and get less and less in results.
Remember the ridiculous price that they allegedly paid for toilet seats? Surely, it went to something else, something that they did not want to mention. Also, let's remember the Iran-Contragate Scandal, which frankly should have ended the Reagan presidency and forced him to resign in disgrace. It was far more serious and compromising to us before the entire world than Watergate ever was.
But Warburg mentions that, in this day and age, even warfare itself has changed. And spending obscene sums of money on modern tanks and jets which, in fact, are not necessarily nearly as effective as much cheaper weaponry has proven to be might ultimately sink us. He argues that we are not adapting to changes, instead puffing our chests with the perceptions of invincibility which many of us associated with those more conventional weapons, of which we really were the masters.
The United States does seem like a nation in decline. Less and less people around the world are overly impressed with us, and as he mentions, both enemies and allies are beginning to dismiss us. And that will have wider ramifications than most Americans care to think about.
Meanwhile, many Americans are fooling themselves into allowing themselves the conceit of believing in our inherent superiority and parading around, beating their chests and cheering whenever Trump insults or takes actions against other countries, including even allies. Those people seem to view this as a show of strength. In fact, it is convincing the rest of the world that the U.S. is a nation and an empire in decline. That is has lost touch with reality, become unstable, and can no longer be relied upon.
As the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. Our collective swaggering and hubris not only is not helping, but it is now actively hurting matters.
Donald Trump is shallow as spit. Every action that he takes is transparently for selfish desires. Nothing for any greater good. And yet tens of millions of Americans seem to think that this pathetic, blatantly corrupt and ugly (in every way) man is making us stronger as a nation. He is actively compromising our strength and our image around the world. Under him, we are growing far weaker, and the entire world is watching it happen. We as a nation grow smaller the more we allow ourselves to remain in the shadow of this pathetic excuse for a leader.
I would recommend taking a look at this video and see for yourself what you think.
America’s Decline is Worse Than You Think Paul Warburg
https://youtu.be/I5QtOOhJarA?si=9oMjXk1c8l0V6q8L
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