Even if we, the good people of the U.S. were to somehow get this maladministration out of office... soon... and start rebuilding our government and commitments to other countries, I fear trump has done lasting damage in that he has shown to the entire world that never again can they count on one country, or even a small number of countries... to have so much influence (of any and ALL kinds) in the world. No doubt, once we get these evil f*&ks out of government once and for all, the rest of the world will just be waiting for dumb americans to elect the next maniacal trump wannabe. And they're right. *We* can't count on our neighbors anywhere in the U.S. to vote for the highest good, because too many of them see it as being about themselves, period.
This has set any projection for global cooperation on any subject so far back as to make it starting at square one again. Climate change... global poverty... women's rights... wars of any and all kinds... the United Nations isn't equipped to deal with a world as divided and drawn back into itself as this one will be when we finally get rid of trump and his cult. Problem is, there will always be psychopaths and sociopaths among us, and they look just like everyone else, and inertia keeps many from acting in the country's best interest of putting these types someplace where they can get the mental help they need... or at least, in keeping them from destroying others.
Who, in the hell would ever trust America again to chart a cooperative path and keep to it? And all these other countries, looking at what the the world's greatest democracy did to them and the rest of the world... after always being there before offering at least humanitarian aid, if nothing else, will decide they can't trust ANY other country that closely ever again. I see it as Tribalism writ large, and it's scary as hell. I'm 69; I'm gonna see and experience some things I not only never thought I'd go through, but some I actively fought against when I was younger.
Here's the last of my wide-eyed innocence and naivety in full view: I'd waited years to see the "Age of Aquarius" usher in a gentile, more tolerant view of the world, where global cooperation could take root and the "common wo/man" would gain in importance and stature just by simply being. I knew, even back as a teenager, that it wouldn't be all roses without thorns. Aquarius is a the great Humanitarian... but it acts on a world-scale; not at the personal level. So it would be a transition before all could be lifted into a better situation. So, the rose colored glasses have been thrown into the corner, my inner teenager who held the ideals and dreams of a better world was touched by trump's actions and has died a painful death. ETTD, for sure. But I sure hope the world gets it together faster and better than the U.S. We've always been on the cheap side of democracies... others are so much more advanced than we've been, with work/life equity measures, help for their disadvantaged, etc. While I don't see us being a leader in that mode for a long time... if ever... I still would like to see a few steps taken in that direction before I cast off this life. Something to make me feel like all my youth wasn't wasted on pipe dreams. That the U.S. CAN pull itself from the brink and save itself.
This OP is sure right on one thing... this 100 days have been the longest I've ever been through in my life, and I've seen some really hard times! 100 days, feels like a 100 months or more. It's just so enervating...
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