Trump is not the issue. It's a big mistake to see it that way.The U.S. impulse to war comes from the same source as the British one during the days of the British Empire. It is a capitalism that makes money out of sending the rest of us to war. That's why Canadians fought wars - because Canadian capitalists once relied on the British Empire for markets. They now rely on American markets so rush to the demands of American capitalists. That's why we fought the Korean War. That's why we bombed Libya and, for a time, Syria. That's why we had military trainers in Syria, now have troops in Latvia, had 'peacekeepers' in Congo and Haiti... That's why we heard nothing about the slaughter of the Maya in Guatemala.
It's a very old game, but far, far more dangerous than it was before with the development of modern weapons.
It also provides an excuse for American governments to divert money from domestic needs into the pockets of a small number of billionaires.
None of this was created by Trump. It began, in fact, before he was born. We are watching a capitalism that has flourished into a greed that is quite out of control. Trump didn't create it. And he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to.
It is greed (and stupidity) that has sent the U.S. into a crash dive to collapse. Trump didn't do this. He is simply a comic figure who follows the same policies as his predecessors - and who will be disposed of by his fellow capitalists because grotesque acts are spoiling their game.
But to return to the original point, the real force here is an overpowerful capitalism that has gone quite out of control.
To add to that, any war could turn into the final one. There are now twenty thousand or so nuclear weapons around the world. A war of any sort could turn those weapons loose. The destruction could be so great that North America would not survive even if every bomb aimed at it missed. Add to that the massive stocks of undiscussed weapons - like poison gas, flammable liquids, food-destroying agent orange and the rapid increase of robot weapons - and we are heading into a world that will not survive.
This is greed and stupidity in measures the world has never before seen. And, like it or not, Canada is up to its ears in this because Canadian capitalists insist on our ties to the U.S. since that opens doors for Canadian exports.
There could not be a more destructive attack to be launched against all humanity. And, frankly, I do not see how the churches can ignore what is happening.
But don't waste time debating about Trump. Yes, he's a horse's ass. But you will find similar behaviour in almost every president (and almost every Canadian premier since 1945 - the sole Canadian exception being Lester Pearson.)
Trump is a lout and a comic figure - as is his whole entourage. But almost all of his predecessors were moving in the same direction as Trump.
Meanwhile, I see Christians lined up outside hospitals to picket those that do abortions. But I have yet to see demonstrations against the U.S. mass murder of civilians including babies all over the world, and its deliberate starvation of millions of Yemen civilians.
After two thousand years, the church is invisible.
