American First makes US weaker

Trump‘s MAGA mantra of putting America First is only making US fall further behind.  Tariffs, lies, and military threats make him predictably unpredictable.  This reduces what little trust nations once had in America’s global leadership.  And Trump's New World Order with his Board of Peace is marshaling into existence a new block of nations that refused to live by his rules.

At India’s recent major Energy Summit our Northern neighbor Canada, attended that summit.   And a quote out of Ottawa by Tim Hodgson, Canada‘s energy minister, asserted “we’re not going to live in a world where might makes right... where the strongest puts tariffs on everyone else. We’re going to live in a world where we believe in free trade, where we believe in trusted relationships.”  This is the sound of our nation tumbling further down and dust bin of history.

Meanwhile, most of the civilized world is recoiling at Trump‘s para-military force as its anti-immigration drive brutally swings across liberal states.  This is the weaponization of partisan politics that authoritarian leaders smile at.

Nobel prize winning economist Paul Romer’s 'modern growth theory’ asserts that ideas are non-rival: “My use of an idea does not prevent your use" of it.  "Knowledge" is like compound interest.  And a "new process, a better algorithm, a more efficient design can lift productivity across the entire economy. A barrel of oil can be burned once. A good idea can be reused forever.”  One major problem with this ‘theory’ is what will that idea being used for? To make more profits - or protect the health of people and our planetary life support systems?

America’s greatness and a little exceptionalism is in its global system that rewards discovery, experimentation, freedom, and entrepreneurial ship - all at scale.  But again, the main ideal must be using our freedom for taking virtuous national and global actions. Without doing this Americans will lose both our freedom and security.  And then our prosperity.  Simply because everything is connected, interdependent, and vulnerable.  And ideals need both virtue and global application.

Wise investments have never been more necessary.  And spending less money on servicing yesterday’s mistakes, lack of prevention, and interest on debt.  While investing more in preventing problems for creating a lasting legacy.  This means wisely prioritizing sufficient resources in achieving the 17th Sustainable Development Goals - ASAP.   We can either bring others up to our level of civilization, or they will bring us down to theirs.  

The US no longer has the market cornered on generating and applying new ideas. This is the freedom nearly every nation that makes it a priority.  And for the US to fail in affordably competing in this - is simply insane.  Because the cost of failure is simply unsustainable and un-American.