One-Hundred Years of Fear: America Has Abdicated Its Leadership of the West - SPIEGEL ONLINE

It wasn't Trump that stoked the fear, it has been the media's non stop attacks on him. He hasn't been in a position of authority for a single day yet. This is just another hit piece from Der Spiegel. No surprise on that front. It is a German socialist rag. Another piece full of name calling and revisionist history written in a country that has no business lecturing anyone about elections and leadership of nations considering their history in the 20th century.

Following WWII, England which had been the "leader" of the Western World for a couple of centuries by virtue of its far flung empire, lay in financial ruin. It lack the resources to man its outposts. It couldn't even cobble together a division to defend the home island. Thus, a British diplomat was dispatched to Washington to ask President Truman if America would take over and we agreed. So, in the first place, America hasn't led the world for 100 years. Its participation in WWI and WWII was delayed because it didn't want to become embroiled in the foolishness of other nations let alone lead them. Trump appears inclined to once again take that familiar position to stand off and have the rest of the world take responsibility for itself. "Inclined" may not be the correct word. "Forced" is more like it. We have squandered our great wealth on Quixotic adventures at home and abroad while the rest of the world has languished like petulant children waiting for America to rescue them from their own misadventures. Well, that has to stop regardless of who is President. If Germany insists on importing cheap labor which also happens to carry time bombs with it, let the consequences fall on them. If France wants to surrender its great cultural heritage to misbegotten dreams of globalism, that's on their heads. And for those Americans who were unsatisfied with becoming national oligarchs and dreamt of an international role, well enjoy for forced retirement.

What an interesting article - thanks for posting it. One take of the Trump campaign could be similar to what the article described - one where Trump follows through with all that he said he would do (isolationism and withdrawal from international agreements). In that instance, the article would be right in my view and the values of western society may be lost. Conversely, if Trump reverts back to "normal" politics he would be disenfranchising those who voted for him. Either way, Trump's "political incorrectness" approach to the campaign puts him at odds one way or the other. If it's the latter, one could say his supporters were misled (for the sake of winning an election). If it's the former, we may all be in a world of trouble.