We all expect to hear you at the 11am hour
WILL! Diane Rehm's (pictured above) second hour topic today is America and it's role as the lone superpower! That was her promo, (read is shaky voice) "As the lone superpower, America blah, blah, blah."
You must call and let them know ... you must! We did not know till you told us ... so call or e-mail 1-800-433-8850 (drshow@wamu.org) or people will remain in the dark!
(NOTE TO KATIE: Will spent some time the other day trying to convince all of us that America is not the lone superpower)
posted by Slobodan Michellevic @ 7:34 AM
4 Comments:
she is pretty...
I know! It is such a shock ... I met her at an NPR thing once and she is very pretty and elegant and then? she opens her mouth and well ... it's not so pretty ...
The hour was about America as Goliath. It is a Goliath. But if you listened you'd also remember that half the conversation was about how to keep the Goliath from falling, and if Goliath really had the power it thought it did.
I just believe that we are very vulnerable now and that we should think that Iran cutting off oil sales would send us all walking to work, or that the dollar won't suffer some serious set backs in the coming decade.
But we aren't the lone superpower... I think what Jesse was saying is true now. We are already crying at the rising power of China and India. We have been losing millions of jobs per year for decades to them-- jobs that were not created here and created there for goods sold here.
I mean is Super Power all about government, military and Imperialism?
Let’s not forget that the other super power of this century was not a particularly fun place to live, as Megan Pointed out, therefore it cannot be said that being a super power requires the top living standard in the world.
Also, let us not forget the number of lives that it takes to maintain the status of Superpower when such status is challenged. WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and Iraq.
Also, remember that the military budget, while having increased since the end of the coldwar, still only has half the buying power of our military budget in the 1980’s. This was stated on Diane’s show.
I would contend that militarily we’re spending more than we need to. One thing that was stated today was that most countries of the world have rolled over and given way to our power, therefore we have been able to cut our budget. Still it is too much because except for a presence, I don’t think we would have the stamina to take on China over Taiwan. I don’t think we would have the strength to take on North Korea if they walked across the border. I think both Koreas would be decimated. Watching the way we have handled Iraq, I don’t think that we have the military might to do more than destroy with missiles. How fast can we produce these missiles is the question.
But also, the world is too much intertwined to consider scenarios of war. Our steel comes from Brazil and the Ukraine… all our resources come from around the world. In WWII our resources came predominantly from the U.S. Therefore I have to assume that we’re the Economic Superpower. Well, the fact that the economies of the world have merged and we have a global market precludes one market from being more super than another. The E.U has a bigger market than the U.S. China will have a bigger market in 20 years they say, but it's rocking the markets now.
I just think that, like the term, “third world,” the term “superpower” is dated. We obviously can’t control the world if that’s what a superpower does.
And I might remind everyone that all the superpowers of the past are no longer. Britain, Prussia, France, Spain, Ottoman Empire, Italy (Rome), Afghanistan, Macedonia, Persia, Egypt, and not to mention all the superpowers of the East and elsewhere.
oh well...whatever...super powers have nothing to do with anything except expendable dollars, a powerful military, and consumable goods...and a very sound and stable government...one that can withstand any type of invasion, calamity, or crisis...and survive....and can support its people through anything without asking for outside help....and can control other's economies to its own end...
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