World politics has never been an easy concept for me to grasp. The interconnectivity that runs behind the confrontational scenes and in parallel reality to the harsh public words is difficult to comprehend, but nonetheless is there.
How the US can have so many economic ties to China and still shake a public stick at them over the squabbles with Japan amazes me. But I just don't get those multiple facets of business and diplomacy.
So, it shouldn't surprise anyone if I say that I'm tending towards isolationism these days.
Not the old-fashioned kind, though, in which we hide inside our borders and don't engage at all. More of a revised model, in which we engage culturally and economically but drop the Team American World Police attitude.
I feel this way based on the observation that we don't get things right that often. We might actually make events worse through our actions than if we didn't do anything at all.
I say it also because I am starting to believe that the main reason there is such opposition to World Trade agreements and the like is not so much the economic aspects but the power-politics involved. No agreement ever seems to be just about making money and creating jobs, two concepts few people can really complain about. There always seem to be power and influence additions that sour the deal for many of us.
So, can we actually have an economic and cultural open house, while keeping our noses out of other countries internal affairs? Can we buy VWs and sell Fords to Germany without bugging Angela Merkel's phone?
I think so. After all Canada pulls it off, so how hard can it be? (No offense, Canada)
Now, there will be some situations we can't ignore, like genocides, ethnic cleansing, and Dennis Rodman. No isolationist worldview is absolute, I'm just asking for a little restraint.
How the US can have so many economic ties to China and still shake a public stick at them over the squabbles with Japan amazes me. But I just don't get those multiple facets of business and diplomacy.
So, it shouldn't surprise anyone if I say that I'm tending towards isolationism these days.
Not the old-fashioned kind, though, in which we hide inside our borders and don't engage at all. More of a revised model, in which we engage culturally and economically but drop the Team American World Police attitude.
I feel this way based on the observation that we don't get things right that often. We might actually make events worse through our actions than if we didn't do anything at all.
I say it also because I am starting to believe that the main reason there is such opposition to World Trade agreements and the like is not so much the economic aspects but the power-politics involved. No agreement ever seems to be just about making money and creating jobs, two concepts few people can really complain about. There always seem to be power and influence additions that sour the deal for many of us.
So, can we actually have an economic and cultural open house, while keeping our noses out of other countries internal affairs? Can we buy VWs and sell Fords to Germany without bugging Angela Merkel's phone?
I think so. After all Canada pulls it off, so how hard can it be? (No offense, Canada)
Now, there will be some situations we can't ignore, like genocides, ethnic cleansing, and Dennis Rodman. No isolationist worldview is absolute, I'm just asking for a little restraint.
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