Donald Trump erupted at the United Kingdom Tuesday morning over its refusal to join the United States in its war against Iran, issuing the European nation a notice that the United States would no longer be offering it “help.”
“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.



They weren’t helping anyone else before.
At best, they were helping themselves (mostly) without actively interfering with others ability to do the same.
No dispute on all the many many harms done or anything in that vein, I’ll never defend the US for countless things.
BUT there was some arguably good, compassionate work done that was effectively dismantled recently, and we shouldn’t lose that detail.
We should remember that the federal govt for a country this huge can never be a monolith (and I do also mean that encouragingly, moving forward…).
We should remember also, that many quiet, gentle people who fundamentally deeply dislike the lived experience of the rat-race of capitalism - paradoxically find themselves seeking the stability and straightforward “work toward an anodyne but useful purpose” offered by many federal government sub-branch-agency-bureau whatevers. Too many to list in my already long comment, that function(ed) both as jobs programs, but also ways that decent Americans end up - by dint of sheer math - placing a very different set of moral values and actions into the broader US govt conduct.
Not a thing to give up quietly, but of course the bigger disasters (again, no dispute, there are many, and probably engineered to be such) will necessarily consume all oxygen in the room, so to speak.
that’s the plus side to the system? some very quiet people were gently making very small gestures?