What Makes France So Aggravating to the USA Is Also What Makes It So Valuable(carnegieendowment.org)
carnegieendowment.org
What Makes France So Aggravating to the USA Is Also What Makes It So Valuable
https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/11/30/what-makes-france-so-aggravating-to-united-states-is-also-what-makes-it-so-valuable-pub-88520
4 comments
It is interesting to note that two centuries ago it was France that were putting pressure on Russia (and all the Europeans countries) to not trade with the United Kingdom. The continental blockade that led to all the Napoleonic Wars.
The roles have now been reversed it seems today although I still have difficulty understanding the interest of the United States to take part so directly in this European "Grand Jeu" to which they must not understand much with their primary macartism perspective.
My impression is that what bothers us about France is its refusal to applaud all of our actions. And some of this is got up by the press: I can remember cases of US government spokesmen shrugging off stuff that the press regarded as an affront.
France which shamelessly installs kakistocratic dictatorial regimes in Central Africa?
I'll pass...
I'll pass...
After reading the article, I am more against the “but they mean well!” argument than ever.
I agree that there are multiple ways to confront a bully (which is essentially what Putin’s Russia is, a bully who uses the assumption of strength to cover the literal lack of strength). However, “moral relativism” is a lie. Invading a neighboring country is wrong, no matter how you frame it. I don’t mean to imply that the USA is consistently morally “good”, quite the opposite. But simply being the constant contra to an inconsistent moral actor doesn’t make you consistently good.
France, and Macron, are a mix of morally good and bad decisions. As is Biden and the USA, as is any leader of any nation. To argue that the “con” to every “pro” is a defensible ethical position is to argue in bad faith
I agree that there are multiple ways to confront a bully (which is essentially what Putin’s Russia is, a bully who uses the assumption of strength to cover the literal lack of strength). However, “moral relativism” is a lie. Invading a neighboring country is wrong, no matter how you frame it. I don’t mean to imply that the USA is consistently morally “good”, quite the opposite. But simply being the constant contra to an inconsistent moral actor doesn’t make you consistently good.
France, and Macron, are a mix of morally good and bad decisions. As is Biden and the USA, as is any leader of any nation. To argue that the “con” to every “pro” is a defensible ethical position is to argue in bad faith