This article is poorly written. It provides no background or supporting references to bolster its claim. I find it frustrating in the extreme. Threats do not have to be overtly threatening. A person in the room that dislikes you and has a lot of money and time can be just as threatening as a person in the room claiming to have a gun at home and an aversion towards your faith/gender/culture.
I come from a place where people blindly believe the US is the best[sic] nation in the world. Anyone that disagrees is obviously some "egghead/pinko/etc" who can't appreciate the sacrifice of others. This, the opposite extreme, is a s frustrating as the words of the dullard who penned this piece. I confront it constantly in an attempt to represent the middle path. In my years of argument, discussion, and reassessment, i have come to realize that nothing is quite what it seems. To make absolute statements, for or against anything, is to place oneself in an inherently weak position intellectually.
The author shrugs at Russia's expansionist aggression, pointing out their economic weakness as a reason they are no threat to the US. The approach to China and Venezuela is similarly misguided. Threats != weapons. Europe's relative peace since world war 2 is largely because of the US being extremely security minded.
...but who knows. Maybe Russia bullying its neighbors is just as symptom of it being misunderstood. Maybe China steals technology and data because they are just in that adolescent "acting out" phase. Maybe the world is really a nice place and the US is ruining the party for everyone.
It is an editorial in the opinion section. agreed references help but ive always assumed words in the opinions section of papers can be regarded as just that
I come from a place where people blindly believe the US is the best[sic] nation in the world. Anyone that disagrees is obviously some "egghead/pinko/etc" who can't appreciate the sacrifice of others. This, the opposite extreme, is a s frustrating as the words of the dullard who penned this piece. I confront it constantly in an attempt to represent the middle path. In my years of argument, discussion, and reassessment, i have come to realize that nothing is quite what it seems. To make absolute statements, for or against anything, is to place oneself in an inherently weak position intellectually.
The author shrugs at Russia's expansionist aggression, pointing out their economic weakness as a reason they are no threat to the US. The approach to China and Venezuela is similarly misguided. Threats != weapons. Europe's relative peace since world war 2 is largely because of the US being extremely security minded.
...but who knows. Maybe Russia bullying its neighbors is just as symptom of it being misunderstood. Maybe China steals technology and data because they are just in that adolescent "acting out" phase. Maybe the world is really a nice place and the US is ruining the party for everyone.
:|