I know I'm over the top too, my main points I just want to make are:
* Ever since Iraq, anti-Americanism swept the world and unfortunately too many Americans got too anti-American themselves, now we face a world of rising nationalism and fascism, but we've still got too many of our own people stuck in these anti-American views themselves.
Meanwhile, the Chinese don't self-doubt one little bit, and not too many Russians do either. So where does that leave us going forward, we're mired in Noam Chomsky books and self-doubt while these other rising great powers are so proud of themselves. They'll keep talking about Iraq for the next fifty years, meanwhile they'll rack up another twenty Crimeas and South China sea type annexations, and they'll just be proud of it all and not self-doubt one little bit.
* Regardless of where you stand on the issues, you have to recognize that nationalism is sweeping the world. In Russia, in China, in Europe itself with all their nazi-ish Front Nationale far extreme right parties. They're all nationalists. Even Japan has a nationalist PM now. And then there's militant islam in the middle east, and spreading into the west too -- that's fascism too, it's just religious fascism.
* We may, at some point, have to put the Noam Chomsky books and self-doubt away. There are enough anti-Americans out there in the world, we don't have to add to it ourselves.
In a world of rising nationalism, with Russians and Chinese being so proud, we may have to find some pride again ourselves.
I'm no nationalist or fascist, but if liberty comes under assault and you've got to pick some kind of nationalism, then I think fascism for liberty is the best of all options. Extremist muslims have their values and ideology behind it all, and we've got ours too -- free speech, human rights, constitutional rights, democracy, elections, doing the right thing. Being the good guys but not doormats either that are just going to get run all over.
If nothing else it's just real politik and you've got to get behind your flag at some point, if you've got much of the rest of the world waving their flags and shouting "Damn America" like these Turkish nationalists.
And another thing about China -- Obama gave big concessions to them, he promised extending visas for Chinese from one year to ten years, and for students from one year to five years. Which I guess is okay, unless they're just looking to colonize -- hopefully get their students over here and we can talk some sense into them.
But while this APEC was going on, at that very moment the Chinese were also hacking the US postal service comptuers.
EDIT: I've got CNN on now, Wolf Blitzer is talking about "did China steal the technology for their new stealth jet," and "is China behind the recent destruction of the US weather forecasting system."
Guys it's just one thing after another, Russia and China, we're getting pushed around so much -- hacked, our tech stolen, our copyrighted intellectual property stolen, our "American exceptionalsim" derided -- while at the same time these very same people, Russians and Chinese, are puffing themselves up with so much nationalism and pride.
I don't know anymore, it just seems like we're pushed around all over the place and we never respond. Obama just goes to China and gets at the back of the line to kowtow to them, and worst of all he wore that crazy outfit. What was that about. Look, I like samurai outfits but if our president visits Japan they don't make us dress in traditional kimonos -- we are not Japanese.
I think that outfit thing was sending a message of dominance. Obama shouldn't have even gone over there, to start with. Or, if you go then wear a SUIT -- to send a message right back to them. Wear a suit and be independent and dignified and polite and talk to the other leaders in the Pacific and offer an alternative to Chinese leadership.
