Once upon a time, America stood for limited government, the rule of law, a strong but restrained defense, and alliances built on trust rather than invoices.
This was not nostalgia; it was policy. These ideas were so central that conservatives once carved them into marble, quoted them reverently, and accused everyone else of insufficient devotion to them.
Trump’s letter to Norway’s prime minister reads less like diplomacy than a toddler’s note to the playground supervisor: I was nice. You didn’t clap. Now I will take your toys.
In this worldview, restraint is not a principle but a courtesy, extended only when properly rewarded. The absence of a medal voids the warranty on civilization.
In the end, the oil may flow, the prices may crash, and the donors may lose fortunes. Still, keep in mind that the President retains what he prizes above all: attention, accolades, and an unwavering belief that any ridicule behind his back merely confirms his superiority
We were told the tariffs were about fairness. American workers would be protected from unfair competition, though no one could identify the American banana industry in need of rescue.
We were told the tariffs were about leverage, though the principal result was leverage applied to grocery bills.
Who among us, after all, has not, in a moment of moral misplacement, desired to run another’s house for them?
Were it not for benevolence and kindness, some would maintain, how else could one ensure that a neighbor’s affairs remain consistent with one’s own comfort?
For centuries, humanity labored under the burden of vague goals like “a good life” or “a just society.” Now, thanks to this elegant principle, meaning has been distilled into barrels. Crude, measurable, stackable barrels.
You can’t hug virtue, but you can store oil in underground caverns the size of small nations.
