Return of the ammo-sexuals

A friend who's a hospitalist; physician in Oregon lamented the revived protests by the ammo-sexuals.  Ah yes - I remember the word from back when one group decided to seize federal land and other groups across the country became adamant about their right to carry firearms into grocery stores. 

The ammo-sexual is the hero of countless movies where justice is eventually meted out by a gun.  Or a sword.  The courts are too slow and corrupt for an action movie.  When America Was Great™ the hero was always a male; even the lone woman with enough grit to live alone in the countryside eventually realized the advantages of having that alpha male around.  She could resist every man's clumsy advances until the true alpha male came into town.

How the city-slicker from New York City became the hero of ammo-sexuals, and hero of the Religious Right, and now it seems maybe even anti-vaxxers (at least the ones on the libertarian end of the movement), was a coalition shuffling that surprised even The Great Orange One. 

And now, as The Great Orange One's stature seemed to be on the verge of humbling by an invisible virus that defied his hunches and a Deep State of scientists and physicians, newly joined by Bill Gates standing in for George Soros, the ammo-sexuals are back in the streets to rescue their hero.

They are the white alpha males, whose asses had generally been kicked around until The Great Orange One rose to power.  And now The Deep State was telling them whether they could leave their homes, go to work, or even cough in public without their neighbors casting an eye of aspersion.  The Great Orange One initially denied the common enemy, then relented to the so-called experts.  The ammo-sexuals felt The Great Orange One's pain as he struggled to intuitively crunch the numbers and balance between lives lost and points of the Dow Jones.  He vacillated enough times to give the day traders a few rallies and short-calls.  But no one tells The Great Orange One OR the ammo-sexuals what to do. They don't want government handouts to stay at home - they want jobs and to walk freely in public.  They're tired of standing aside for The Deep State of scientists, and doctors, and even an invisible virus - no, they are not afraid.  They are the alpha males.  They are the ammo-sexuals.

As the United States becomes number one*

*in the number of deaths.

While the election of Donald Trump seemed like a step backwards for the United States, his actual leadership (or lack thereof) is what diminished the US as a consistent anchor in global politics.  Similar to the domestic front, the attention and global markets shifted from "what is the United States going to do" to "what kind of mood is Donald in today?"  "Who will be the next person in his administration to get fired?"

Still, because of US economic and military might, other leaders were required to humor him, and stay on top of the tweets, even as they sorted out how they were going to manage in a world that no longer had the US as a consistent global voice.  And of course, every country has its own set of priorities.  The pandemic has only heightened that trend, with the only upside being that Trump has virtually zero (actually, less than zero) standing in this global situation.  While the US consulate has made some posts about US assistance to other countries, the headlines have been dominated by every country scrambling to save their own people (and Republicans in the US pushing policies to increase deaths in some countries they consider enemies).  At least in Australia, the only major collaborative news was about China sending a team to Italy.   And so, it seems this pandemic, at least as far as the Trump administration is concerned, has cemented the US position as a non-leader.  Even Trump himself has tried to push his "states rights" agenda towards saying that the management of the pandemic is up to governors; not a federal issue.  While another administration might have thought globally in response to a global issue, as I say, Trump's response has been less than zero; overall increasing the likelihood of deaths. 

Does this mean the end of an empire?  The United States is still a large population with a large economy and that doesn't end overnight.  Regardless of whether the US has good leadership or not, its economy will still carry weight, even if its military becomes dysfunctional and demoralized.  But lack of leadership will definitely be a factor in recovery.  Economists and Congress seem to have grabbed the reins, but in the absence of any sense of shared destiny, the US recovery may take the same path as its initial response to the danger - too much partisan squabbling and not enough coherent action.  Inside the United States, the last catastrophe was known as the sub-prime mortgage crisis.  Outside the US, it's referred to as the GFC - Global Financial Crisis.  Even if the US is not a leader, it drags the rest of the world along whatever trajectory.  In that regard, seeing the decline of the US as a global leader is like the death of a drug cartel leader.  While it's an opportunity for someone, it means a lot of unrest and violence as they claw their way into the void.