cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/41876427
Greetings, everyone - Europeans, Canadians, British, Mexicans, anyone fighting to strenghten their own economies and their allied nations.
Forgive me for the obvious statements, but saying them out loud is never too much, whether for reinforcing them, or for anyone who hasn't considered them fully yet.
The reason to say this is because despite talking a big game, and fully meaning it, the fact is that Trump's US quickly falls back when they see us get together and retailiate. See how he was playing the game of "tariff, no tariff" with Canada. And how Canada was mostly spared this round of tariffs. This was not motivated by acts of kindness towards Canadians. It's a strategic move to buy time. Canada did as the US asked and greatly invested in border security, reducing fentanyl crossings to near zero - Trump's dismissive verdict after that: "there's still huge amounts of fentanyl coming from Canada so they'll get tariffs". Heck, even the EU got a 20% tariff, which is already lower than I personally expected to see. There's no winning or appeasing, obviously.
Don't let this be a temporary fad, in any nation now affected by the US bullying. It's not about what is currently happening, but that it can even happen at all. And if it happened now, even if the US stopped and we all collectivelly just said "let bygones be bygones" and went to business as usual, this can happen again in the future. Later in your life, or with your kids, or their kids.
More than anything it's in great part due to a cultural mindset. Of thinking that one nation is above others and using that mentality to create havoc. Trump may be getting old, but there's a whole army of people with his mindset already lined up for when he's gone. And in a culture that encourages such a mindset in the people seeking power. And we Europeans should know very well, as we have our own grim past with such tendencies, and vowed to be better from then on.
It's true most of us have been very complacent with the US - why fix what's not broken, after all? We all (including the US) have benefitted for years from this alliance of shared interest. And many times we put our own independency in second place in favor of US influence, from not investing in our security because they also wanted to secure bases and power in Europe and other parts of the globe, to not developing our own tech more than needed, and widely adopting their tech and culture into our daily lives.
The ironic thing is with how much we've allowed ourselves to be at the mercy of another people's vote. We don't get a say in who runs the US, and yet we're affected nonetheless by their leadership decisions. Don't get complacent. Be willing to aid others, but still be independent enough to thrive when others threaten you.
We must all stand together. Buy locally, then nationally, then from your allies, avoid empowering economies who want to see yours fail. Elect leaders who reinforce your sovereignty.
This is not a fad, but a new way of life. Don't let anyone (be it Russia, or the US, or China, or anyone else) divide you from other genuine allies just because they're not hitting you as bad as everyone else at one given time - because that will not last against bullies. Stand strong.
Apologies for the long rant. With kindness from the small Azorean islands.
