So Buddha either did not take note of our incensed plea, dear readers, or else other forces trumped the Buddha’s intervention. Either way, we now face an unusually high degree of obscurity with regard to developments in the US, the world, and therefore in China, too.
It may play out in all sorts of horrible ways, but it is not necessarily so. Presidents are constrained in all sorts of ways, and it’s even possible that not all his decisions will be counter-productive. We just don’t know, so the Americans (and others) who have been hyper-ventilating should really relax a little bit. It’s too early to say how any of it will go. Trump found and rode a wave of the dispossessed, but their interests are not those of the Republican Party, which will create an interesting dynamic.
Meanwhile, the mid-term elections in 2018 will provide the next opportunity to re-balance things, and we would guess that there will be an upsurge in activism amongst Dem supporters between now and then, probably led by Obama, who want to “reclaim America.” A de-Clintonized DemParty with an energized base could be very effective.
Trump can surely be counted upon to do and say more than his fair share of stupid things in the months ahead. The idea of people like Giuliani, Christie and Gingrich holding power is on the face of it absurd, and an unfettered Republican Congress is presumably going to push the US in a direction that will make many uncomfortable. So we will see.
But the Trump victory will likely spur a reaction, and will lead to a resolve and then on to activism in terms of defining more clearly what being American means and what kind of society Americans want. America is the only society in the world that can handle this debate and transition in such a relatively sensible way. Trump is a phase. Meanwhile China’s people, like people around the world, are puzzled. China’s leaders? Probably far more unsure than usual of how to play this. That can’t be bad. Enjoy the weekend, the first for so long unsullied by discussions over who will win.
Like this:
Like Loading...
