Consider these European and American binaries.
On December 20, 2024, a terrorist, Taleb Al-Abdul Mohsen, rammed his SUV into a Christmas crowd in Magdeburg, Germany. He killed 6 pedestrians and injured 299 others.
Eleven days later, on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, Louisiana, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar smashed his pickup into a festive crowd. He murdered fifteen and hurt over 35.
Germany’s fertility rate is scarcely above 1.4—about average for a shrinking European Union. About 20 percent of the country is now foreign-born, a record high.
American fertility has precipitously dived to 1.6. The foreign-born now represent 15 percent of the American resident population, the highest in both actual numbers (50 million) and percentages in history.
The German military is a shell of its former self, with fewer than 200,000 soldiers and a shortage of almost all types of weapons.
The U.S. military, after being humiliated in Afghanistan, is currently down some 40,000-plus recruits. It faces shortages of anti-tank weapons, artillery shells, ships, and logistical support.
Germany may finally manage to spend 2% of its GDP on defense; the United States is heading downward below 3%—the lowest in over 80 years since the Great Depression.
Last year, the German economy shrank; this year, it will scarcely grow, in part because of shortages of affordable fossil fuels.
Germans pay four times what Americans on average do for electricity. Yet the Trump administration has promised an oil and natural gas renaissance, hoping to expand both production and exports with envisioned new pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals.
In sum, the U.S. is beginning to mimic the pathologies of Europe—and yet in the next four years, renewal could help slow the decline of both.
Both face shrinking and aging populations. Both either cannot or will not control their borders, despite popular protests. Both suffer from woke political correctness and are pushing back.
The proverbial people of both nations want smaller government—and more freedom of expression and less woke. They insist on less and legal-only immigration and secure borders.
They vote for cheaper energy and fewer regulations.
Europeans and Americans alike want more meritocracy and fewer fixations on race and gender.
In the chaos of the postmodern 21st century, Europe and the U.S. nevertheless are still likely to share the same enemies and friends.
Both resent the asymmetrical Chinese approach to global commerce, based on a mercantilism that would never allow Europe and the United States to treat China as it does both.
The Europeans and the Americans are both worried about a vastly expanding conventional and nuclear Chinese military.
Neither wants Iran to develop nuclear-tipped missiles with ranges to hit the capitals of both. They do not want Vladimir Putin to recreate the former Soviet Union’s borders.
Europe, as a rule, loves Democrats as kindred quasi-socialists. But privately many Europeans assume their own security and prosperity do better when America is governed by conservatives.
In the past, Europe has not been a fan of Donald Trump, both as president and as a pre- and post-presidency candidate.
They fear that he is an isolationist, insufficiently diplomatic, not fully supportive of NATO, or too tariff-happy for their tastes—and are scared of his art-of-the-deal trolling to prompt wake-up calls.
But 2025 is certainly not 2017 or even 2020. And a “reset” in thinking on both sides is urgently now needed more than ever.
The Biden administration was no model partner for Europe. It quite outrageously forced cancellations of a joint Cypriot, Greek, and Israeli EastMed pipeline to bring much-needed natural gas to Europe.
It talked a great game about strengthening NATO. But the alliance’s bulwark, the U.S. military, saw its real budget cut, its Pentagon politicized, and recruitment short more than 40,000 enlistees.
The humiliating 2021 skedaddle from Afghanistan not only eroded American credibility but undermined all Western deterrence as well.
Biden opposed building new liquefied natural gas export terminals in the U.S. designed to help energy-starved Europe find a reliable and honest supplier and decouple from Russia.
Trump, in contrast, promises to “drill, drill, drill,” in part to ensure needed income by exporting huge amounts of LNG to fuel-starved Europe.
Europe was angry that a bantering Trump once bullied them to meet their promises to increase their defense spending.
But after the invasion of Ukraine, they are happy that some countries did just that.
Europeans likely want—and need—Trump to restore a more deterrent U.S. military, not a woke one.
Europe and America are both in crisis and need radical new thinking.
So, who knows—Europe may soon quietly rejoice that Biden is gone, Trump is back, and they have a strong, loyal, and rowdy friend rather than a simpering enabler.
“Imminent death has an amazingly clarifying effect on the mind”, according to Samuel Johnson.
Europe - like Canada - has been coasting along - subsidizing its socialistic appetites on the treasure they haven’t had to spend on being adults and funding their own military structure because, well, “Uncle Sam’s a glorified fool and going to always be there.”
All we need to do is give them a serious wake-up and smell the reality roses moment; and “explain” the facts of life to them according to the there’s no free lunch paradigm and, as of now - immediately if not sooner. realize that?
We are no longer going to foot the bill; if they want protection - then they have to pay for it and put their own people in harm’s way - have their own armies that are the ones who will do or die for them.
If they don’t want to let our cars, our products in - well - two can play at that game re Europe, Canada and certainly the failed, narco state of Mexico.
For too long we have let Europe act out like petulant teenagers who are entitled to what they want because they want what they want.
Let’s see how they handle dealing with the bear hug of the Russian bear when it comes calling on their backstabbing azzes.
Channeling Rhett Butler on what may or may not aid Europe, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”. Co-tangent to my feelings about Europe, I’m guilty of having similar feelings towards all of California and the entirety of the Los Angeles Basin. Against years and years of warnings, career politicians in both places enacted policies that actually hurt their constituencies—all the while, those self-same constituencies re-elected their incompetent leaders time after time.
I’ve reached the point where I can no longer muster up the tiniest eff to give.
As VDH noted, Germany has the highest electricity rates of any first world nation while corporations there are going bust at very alarming rates------yet the German government and media cite the AfD Party as their greatest threat. And while no longer part of the EU, Starmer and his cronies shield grooming gangs while thousands of young British women become easy prey. Brussels continues to destroy farms and farmland as bureaucrats cheer.
In both places (California and Europe) the Social Contract was broken-----but ALL of the blame cannot be placed at the feet of leadership. Inherent in that contract is the duty of the people to elect competent leaders. And instead of doing so----and removing the rascals—they kept placing idiots in charge.
VDH links our economic health with that of Europe—his Ben Franklin reference. Well, I beg to differ. I, personally, do not want the United States’ economic health dependent on anyone. I want manufacturing brought home. I, personally, do not care if we never import cheese, wine, or dairy products again. I, personally, feel we can grow our own lumber. And the list goes on.
At this precise moment we have been given a unique opportunity. I’ve been watching Tweets from Hollywood liberals castigating Bass and Newsom for totally mismanaging the safety of the city and state over firing Firemen for not taking a questionable injection, for removing over $17 million from the fire budget, for not filling reservoirs voted on back in 2014, for sending “surplus” fire equipment to Ukraine, for placing a smelt above the safety of the citizenry. It might be enough to turn a liberal into a conservative----or at least bring on a bevy of newly minted conservative Democrats. I’ll take either.
What I won’t take is a scintilla of blame over their plight. They did it to themselves.
Samsara, somehow I do not think we are alone in our feelings. Joke 'em. (etc.)
Obviously, we great minds do indeed think alike!
or, is it as my sainted mother-in-law, who was British, raised before the war in Sussex, had her first fox hunting pony at 5, served in the WRENs (British Women’s Navy division)
during WWII under the Admiral who orchestrated the sinking of the Bismark, who then married my father-in-law, who was then a young first lieutenant in the Army (graduated top of his class at West Point - missed out on going to the Olympics to represent the U.S. in fencing when they were canceled);
was wounded four times in WWII and then went on to be Chief of Staff at America’s largest military installation, was always wont to say when I would make a definitive statement?
Being she was truly old school, to the manor born, British and could never allow a totally, unequivocal statement to pass without qualification - would say!
“Yes, great minds do think alike, but don’t forget that small minds seldom differ.”
I spoke to a Zoomer the other day who told me that she votes based on her race. She exclaimed that these are my people - central American Indians. Obviously I had no intention of getting into a Constitutional discussion but she did make me think.
Most of us have European roots and that is a strong reason that we feel obligated. Many of my associates visit Europe to visit relatives. I almost wanted to just say, to the Zoomer “I don’t give a damn”, but maybe I should be saying that to Europe instead.
Europe reminds us that there is no gift that goes unpaid. Trump is resistant to the woke virus. He looks at people like an evolutionary biologist that knows that not only is life about preparedness and fitness but it is about everyone carrying their own weight. We are a compassionate people who work hard. We strive to help the weak and unfortunate but none of us like to be coerced. We do it because we want to and right now many of us pondering the question as to why we should want to? Even more importantly - why should we have to? Both questions have been brought to the surface by Donald Trump making it clear that Europe expects, is unappreciative, arrogant, dismissive and demanding. If the Europeans will not help themselves exactly why should Americans do it for them?
Did the thought occur that we don’t have to worry about hanging together as much as Europe should be worried about hanging alone.