Post And9aPcNtnuLog6irA by ryanjyoder@techhub.social
(DIR) More posts by ryanjyoder@techhub.social
(DIR) Post #And3e2ZAwno5kvxAVU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-02T10:10:14Z
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It is impossible for an American president to be a "good person" it's not a good person job. As commander and chief of the US Military and steward of US hegemony you are morally gray at best. (And staying gray not going fully dark is worth it, the best we can hope for now.)We should ask the question: what changes would be needed for this to no longer be the case?
(DIR) Post #And4NEiGdJykSXkzh2 by RogerBW@discordian.social
2024-11-02T10:18:23Z
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@futurebird I think that part of the problem is that by the time someone gets to be president they owe so many favours (to donors, to their party, etc.) that opportunities for being their own person are very limited. A complete ban on the purchase of political advertisements would help with that, by reducing the need for money to get elected, but it certainly wouldn't solve it.
(DIR) Post #And4OUv3rcYj0oLJSq by GustavinoBevilacqua@mastodon.cisti.org
2024-11-02T10:18:28Z
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@futurebird What about "be added to this list"?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_without_armed_forces
(DIR) Post #And4PaXKSryoitlJui by jwcph@helvede.net
2024-11-02T10:18:39Z
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@futurebird I actually think we need to contest that premise. We ABSOLUTELY need good people to ESPECIALLY hold "not a good person" jobs, because we need somebody who, if the job requires doing something bad - e.g. war shit, to keep it simple - will do so only with the greatest of reluctance. I can't see how a job like that can be cleansed of bad things, so that a good person could do it without any moral objections, but accepting the premise we end up with The Operative from "Serenity"...
(DIR) Post #And4dwzRmPIIPplLIu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-02T10:21:25Z
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@contextfree What needs to happen is terrifying. We (we as in humans not we as in the US) need more than one, ideally several "great powers" on the international scene. Those great powers need to trust each other and work together on things such as climate change & not letting anyone just ... take other countries. These great powers ideally would be in a contest over who is the most free and liberal and constantly shaming and criticizing each other for repressing their people and press.
(DIR) Post #And4mnonFXyiZm05Q0 by mattmcirvin@mathstodon.xyz
2024-11-02T10:23:00Z
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@futurebird There's also the dilemma that a world in which you or we have cleaner hands isn't necessarily a *better* world. It could, but it could also just mean some worse monster has all the power.This extends to individual voting decisions too. I think there are a lot of people who habitually don't vote, or vote for minor candidates in a system in which this is an ineffective thing to do, because they want clean hands; they don't want to be responsible for anything bad their leadership does. But it doesn't make anything better.
(DIR) Post #And4rxRStdSLs5XyU4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-02T10:23:58Z
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@contextfree Part of the issue at present is there is only really the US, and the US isn't willing to let anyone else look it in the eye. This is no better than when there was only the UK. And if we hang on to that above all else we won't be one of the major players in the future. Which might even be fair and for the best ... but it wouldn't be the best for me or other people *in* the US.
(DIR) Post #And51YOAtjMZ4BaFSi by katzenberger@mastodon.de
2024-11-02T10:25:40Z
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@futurebird The distance between #Washington, D.C. and #Gaza is about 5,700 miles. Which is why you call it the Middle East.My hometown is 3.5 times closer to Gaza. Which is why we call it the Near East.In my country alone, the #US are maintaining 34 military bases.And still I see US citizens being so pompously irate that my posts "interfere" with US matters, from abroad.
(DIR) Post #And5UwxybAbLgqLZDs by Twitter_expat@mastodon.world
2024-11-02T10:30:58Z
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@futurebird In this world power is excise with war or the threat of it. The fact that the USA and its allies has the most powerful war machine is a tremendously good thing. People who never had to live the collapse of their country by dictatorship like Ukraine or Venezuela will never appreciate the power that America has.
(DIR) Post #And64o7OyM0afoqz2m by ajsadauskas@social.vivaldi.net
2024-11-02T10:37:24Z
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@futurebird Where the US has gotten itself unstuck strategically and morally in the postwar years has tended to be when it has:1) Allied itself with autocratic regimes2) Engaged in conflicts at the behest of corporate interests3) Acted unilaterally4) Acted covertly5) Attempted to force its preferred institutional and economic models on other countries by coercion or force6) Attempted nation-building in foreign lands, often after forcing regime change7) Not respected the sovereignty of other nations and peoples8) Used force to shut down popular uprisings and movements for national liberation9) Overthrown popularly elected governments it dislikes, replacing them with autocratic regimesHow a US president could address these issues:1) Stick by its principles by only aligning with liberal democracies2) Not engage in conflicts on behalf of corporate interests3) Act multilaterally with allies, including reducing the number of overseas bases4) Cut its own military spending, with other liberal democracies to spend more on defence5) Acting transparently6) No more wars for regime change7) Less interference in other countries8) Accepting that not every country is, or should be, a capitalist liberal democracy 9) Supporting genuine movements for national liberation
(DIR) Post #And6XSSkZCLxuKV6tE by mkarliner@mastodon.modern-industry.com
2024-11-02T10:42:37Z
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@futurebird @contextfree Being in the UK I'm relatively sanguine, in the longer term.US hegemony has been declining for years, it's just that the US refuses to see it. America thinks it's a superpower because they have the most guns. China is a superpower because they make everyone's TVs. America thinks it is a technological superpower, but they events of this year, where Japan India and China all landed on the moon, belie that.
(DIR) Post #And6ehZKnhPMmm2CzQ by mensrea@freeradical.zone
2024-11-02T10:43:57Z
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@futurebird they where onto something with the international working men's association. not with out it's issues, first being the "men's", but we have to start somewhere
(DIR) Post #And9UXAotZZnVmPZM8 by iinavpov@mastodon.online
2024-11-02T11:15:44Z
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@futurebirdI strongly disagree. A good person is not someone that does no evil. A good person is over who strives to reach the better outcome.And we need someone like that (and I'm not American) who is *also* knowledgeable and intelligent.
(DIR) Post #And9aPcNtnuLog6irA by ryanjyoder@techhub.social
2024-11-02T11:16:48Z
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@futurebird @contextfree personally I'm not sure a multi polar world is the solution especially because it would be so unstable. I think we need stronger international institutions. The UN security council needs reform for example.
(DIR) Post #AndA9EJZushktYugmu by BassRck65@mastodon.social
2024-11-02T11:23:06Z
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@futurebird Inherent Human nature would have to be reversed!
(DIR) Post #AndAR3KVUt1G2QqX9E by Ornwen@mstdn.social
2024-11-02T11:26:18Z
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@contextfree @futurebird technically, that’s what the UN Security Council is supposed to be. And the UN Human Rights Council. But we all see how that’s been going. The Great Powers specifically needed for these tasks choose their power over other countries’ rights. That’s how they got powerful in the first place. And I have no gd solution to this- except that the world’s citizens must hold them accountable with no mechanism to do so.
(DIR) Post #AndBk0VMKAtyjVWZNI by catselbow@fosstodon.org
2024-11-02T11:40:56Z
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@futurebird It might seem like a small thing, but I think we need to start with openness and honesty. Secrecy and lies are a cancer that eats at the fabric of society, no matter how well-intended. Are back-room deals, secret negotiations, or covert operations ever really necessary, or are they just expedient?
(DIR) Post #AndCR6sSVV2EwuskLY by voxpelli@mastodon.social
2024-11-02T11:48:42Z
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@futurebird No single person should have as much power as the president of USA (and of eg. France) has.It’s not a necessity for a democracy to have this much power in the hands of a single individual.In eg. Germany the president has no powers and in eg UK and the Scandinavian countries there are monarchs instead of presidents and these neither has any power (in UK by convention only, because UK is UK)Few sane persons are willing to take on such a massive responsibility.
(DIR) Post #AndCr0UYs2B0fs3L4C by roytoo@mstdn.social
2024-11-02T11:53:24Z
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@futurebird Thanks for starting yet another thought provoking post. Definitely anyone at the top of our military will have to make (or authorize others to make) morally grey decisions.Lots of great discussion and points down thread.
(DIR) Post #AndDPyEZG1ZRo5FB8C by SallyStrange@eldritch.cafe
2024-11-02T11:59:44Z
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@futurebird nobody should be able to hold that much power. The same was true of kings during the age of monarchs. Less useful asking how to ensure the king is good (or "less evil" I suppose) than figuring out how to refuse to be ruled by any monarch.
(DIR) Post #AndDjAJgYik2mYn4K0 by timo21@mastodon.sdf.org
2024-11-02T12:02:43Z
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@futurebird Carter and Clinton did try to reduce the size of the USA military but were thwarted by wealthy conservatives and international religious crazies. So a big step to a less agressive USA presidency is to convince all world societies and cultures to leave their neighbors alone.
(DIR) Post #AndEfmb2ORsgIirEtU by Heidentweet@todon.eu
2024-11-02T12:13:47Z
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@futurebird Capitalism should be abolished, the land given back to the indigenous peoples, and all our tech and know-how put in solving the problems capitalists have given us. For the rest, it's trying new things out and see what and when works.
(DIR) Post #AndEhTrf0cZCmgRUsi by jpab@mastodon.gamedev.place
2024-11-02T12:14:07Z
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@futurebird @contextfree I'm not sure you can have great powers that trust each other and work together, while simultaneously shaming and criticizing each other for being repressive.I mean, maybe you can because governments aren't individuals and international relations aren't necessarily driven by emotional considerations. But I'm not sure.
(DIR) Post #AndFxMmJDuarOU4uTQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-02T12:28:12Z
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@jpab @contextfree Isn't part of cooperating on a project holding each other to some standards?
(DIR) Post #AndGYpKe1XkafO07Mm by wjmaggos@liberal.city
2024-11-02T12:34:46Z
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@ajsadauskas @futurebird we must stop thinking of foreign policy as fundamentally different than domestic policy. it's corrupted by donors and lacks enough public understanding and concern for us to do proper oversight. the key difference is the lack of those negatively affected to have any political say. bigger nations will be bullies until the UN represents the will of the world's people and can constrain them for the good of all.
(DIR) Post #AndGdDOcUoY2STx8KG by Lyle@cville.online
2024-11-02T12:35:45Z
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@futurebird Many. I worry that part of it is geopolitical pressure. To the extent that the U.S. is willing to step back some other body must step in. That’s broadly a good thing IMO but I could see some problems if despots abuse this (as they abuse the current system)
(DIR) Post #AndI8uMgt9bwegj7JI by jpab@mastodon.gamedev.place
2024-11-02T12:52:41Z
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@futurebird @contextfree Well, yes, I suppose so. But for *people* at least, I don't think shaming comes into that if it's a good working relationship - pulling your friend or colleague up when they do something wrong is something you do privately with them.For governments and international negotiations? I have no clue. But I think usually when states work together they try to show a united front for the people & press.
(DIR) Post #AndJMUeRO89Guj4SYa by fixiemama@mastodon.social
2024-11-02T13:06:18Z
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@futurebird Electoral college reform, ie get rid of it. We're stuck in this two-party system bc of the electoral college. It is a remnant of our dirty history when so many were enslaved. Now it's the reason why there's no viable third party; voting for Jill Stein isn't a vote for Jill Stein, it's a vote for the trailing 🫏 or 🐘 candidate.Speaking of which anyone who thinks a Pres. Stein would prevent us from sending bombs to Israel does not understand what the US really is.
(DIR) Post #AndKGDzqUtAfTceq5w by andyhilmer@mstdn.social
2024-11-02T13:16:24Z
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Lower stakes. As it stands, the U.S. has been the fattest target of every high-end big money ratfucking campaign for over a century now. The stakes are high and the idiot rich love being whales. I think we’re at least a century away from any scenario where the stakes are low enough for the executives of our republic to be nice people.@futurebird
(DIR) Post #AndKtX7vIyeg6OBCWe by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-11-02T13:23:31Z
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@futurebird in the USA, it's not so much that power attracts the corruptible, it's that anyone who is unduly difficult to corrupt is walled out of all sorts of imporant career paths early on.
(DIR) Post #AndPYVP515kiRlzsdE by garbados@friend.camp
2024-11-02T14:15:43Z
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@futurebird short answer: land back
(DIR) Post #AndPgtD0OR4KauLa0O by qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social
2024-11-02T14:17:14Z
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@futurebird we need to end the existence of billionaires.Most of the bad things we do are for them.But like, protecting south Korea is good. Protecting Europe is good. We even have the capacity to do good things with the military in Africa and the middle east.But not when we're there to help billionaires steal from the people who live there
(DIR) Post #AndV6pO9ibca2vka2K by cohentheblue@ohai.social
2024-11-02T15:18:48Z
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@futurebird The main problems would occur if US tried to instantly drop all its international obligations. The world would most likely be overtaken by the numerous (wannabe, like Modi) dictators (Putin, Xi) because nukes are the only thing keeping those people in check. Most EU countries etc don't have the sense to increase military spending nearly enough or to cooperate with allies on a large enough scale militarily to replace US protection.US would need to form a transition agreement.