And we do mean “dear.” We love you. Impressions to the contrary notwithstanding.
There’s been much talk of divorce. The alliance called dead. It’s understandable. You’ve been — to borrow a phrase — “treated very unfairly.” But here’s the thing. It would be wrong to see this as America’s doing, as if it reflects the whole country’s attitude. Rather, it’s one man’s doing, one man’s messed up brain. And he”ll be gone in three years.
We can’t promise you the next guy will be better. It’s hard to imagine worse; though admittedly, our country does have some deep-seated pathologies that led to where we are now. But we do have our better angels; bear in mind that a mere 1% vote swing would have produced a totally different 2024 outcome. And a lot of Americans are waking up to see how they goofed there. So let’s see what 2028 brings.
True, even if we do elect another Lincoln or FDR, we can no longer be depended upon. But I always say, you needn’t cross a bridge till you get to it.
And let’s keep our eyes on the ball. NATO was created for a reason, which actually seems even more critical today. The alliance was hugely successful at keeping the peace in Europe through the Cold War. Then, nobody really foresaw any Soviet aggression outside its own bloc (thanks indeed to NATO). Today’s Ukraine war represents Russia testing those limits. If it succeeds even a little bit there, Putin will see the way open to go much further.
Trump, by being Putin’s patsy and pulling America back from trying to stop him in Ukraine — and pulling back from our NATO commitments — makes the danger all the worse. An irony here is that you do seem to have woken up to the Russian threat and are scrambling to arm yourselves. But while helping Ukraine you appear to have this weird aversion to folding that country into the EU and NATO. Yet at this point Ukraine has built itself up militarily to outclass the whole rest of Europe. You should make it Europe’s first line of defense.
A return to a Stephen Miller world not of international law and order, but of might-makes-right, ruled by “power and force,” where the big dogs do as they please and the rest must just knuckle under, is a horrible prospect to be avoided at all costs.
So, in sum, as far as America is concerned, we urge patience. Please don’t write us off yet. We do see you are trying hard to make the best of the existing situation, and we appreciate that. Just hang in there. View your current accommodations as merely unavoidable. Be optimistic that this whole situation will prove to be a nightmare we’ll all wake from.
Then we can have make-up sex. That’s really the best kind.
Your true friend, sincerely,
America
