Those who know me know I’m terribly opinionated. Since I tend to believe in the Socratic Method over other ways of learning, I am by nature a contrarian. If it is popular, I’m against it until proven otherwise. This certainly makes me a terrible person for small talk, and tends to label me a ‘negative person’ in many circles. I certainly don’t mind this, as it does tend to help me find an answer much closer to the truth then simply acquiescing to others opinions immediately.
However, there are some downsides to this ‘silver lining’. Tonight, the downside that reared its ugly head is that of the ‘perfect opponent’. When you are a contrarian you will come across some people who are always able to outdo your questions or come up with perfect responses. You often will not come to terms or agreement on any given question, but the times you do you will find an almost euphoric experience in the answer. These few times you will not only come to an understanding, but you will actually feel as though you’ve hit the truth. At least, as close as you can.
Tonight, this person was Pat Buchanan. Yes, this guy.
You know him – the massively conservative Republican famous for his ideals that tend to be in stark contrast to anything I happen to believe. However, he’s an incredibly smart guy, and tends not to rely on ‘spooky’ logic like the Bible and such for his beliefs – he’s thought about them, and it shows.
Watch him sometime on the old PBS debate programs he would go on. I always love reading what he writes since he has incredibly cogent arguments for me to pick apart. Usually the things I pick apart he will answer in his next column or be asked by someone on a news show. And he’ll respond. Sure, I’ll disagree at some point, but the guy knows his shit.
However, we tend to be diametrically opposed to my beliefs, which tend towards the left, to say the least. Because of all this, when we both agree on something it tends to freak me out. Tonight, it is his post on the HumanEvents site entitled ‘Decade of Self-Delusion’. A short excerpt is here, although I would encourage you to read the entire thing.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States began the century producing 32 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. We ended the decade producing 24 percent. No nation in modern history, save for the late Soviet Union, has seen so precipitous a decline in relative power in a single decade.
Let that alone sink in. We’ve gone from producing 1/3 of the entire worlds GDP to producing 1/4. This should horrify anyone who reads it, as once upon a time we were the absolute leader in such matters. The stat itself should worry – the fact that it put us in the same boat as the late-stage-era Soviet Union is even more troubling.
For those my age who barely remember the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republicans in power trumpeted the success of the Cold War as the ultimate reason for the demise of the communist threat. While this could be debated, certainly both our countries went into the ‘red’ (pardon the pun) thanks to the extraordinary expenditure on defense.
Contrary to popular belief, war doesn’t spur economic recovery. Usually, it has the opposite effect by sending entire regions spiraling into debt and poverty. Russia learned this the hard way by pumping every dollar it made into weaponry. They didn’t think their enemy would outlast them – our strategy as well – and they were wrong. We were right this time, but still went incredibly deep into debt.
The poetry of this, naturally, comes back to our war in Afghanistan – the place that really put the nail in the Soviet coffin. 30 years ago, our very smart men in the CIA got Osama to provoke the Soviets to invade Afghanistan, knowing the Soviets would stretch themselves too thin to keep their economy afloat. It worked, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, Osama declared it a personal victory. It’s even called the Soviets Vietnam. Ouch.
Even the pictures feel recent. Soviets leaving Afghanistan 22 years ago.
Naturally, he then became an enemy of ours, and when he got angry with us he took a page out of the CIA playbook and provoked us to invade Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now – it seems – Yemen. Once again, the country who invades Afghanistan will pour Billions (Trillions?) of their money into the pit, and their economy will suffer for it.
Lo and behold, history is repeating itself, and the game being played is one we invented. And it is working incredibly well. The TRILLION bucks we have spent on the war was not money that went into our coffers, building our economy. It’s all gone.Our production jobs are all overseas, so the money leaves our economy for good. We’re screwed. We are going the way of Rome and the Soviet Union.
And on all this, Pat and I agree.
And I am terrified to agree with some.