I am not an ophthalmologist. So, I cannot explain why people can't see for themselves. Nor am I interested enough in so-called human factors to start analyzing what makes people so confused. But I am a career financial executive with multiple academic degrees and 30 years experience in international business relations. As such, I can shine some light onto the monetary lining of certain political matters. (And yes, it's always about money!)
We are several months away from 2016 presidential face-off and the outcome of the Republican primary is still uncertain, but Hillary has already started her anti-Trump balls rolling. In March, she and another former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright (he-Clinton's appointee), declared that U.S. allies abroad are "definitely worried" about the idea of Trump's potential presidency.
Here I feel obligated to remind the readers that Madeleine Albright keeps repeating on record that “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other,” thus forcing upon you the idea of vagina sisterhood as the highest priority for women – more important than our survival, well-being, principles, and ideals. This is just to underscore the speakers' vantage point. But you've got to love the ambiguity of their statement worthy of true foreign-affairs foxes: Which allies are they talking about? All of them or just a few? A couple, or twenty, or none?
In the absence of clarity, we can only speculate, but I sure hope they are all worried. Because, unlike all those professional politicians in the running, Donald J. Trump is not going to play nice and be concerned about our allies' opinions of him personally or of America's policies. For Donald J. Trump, American interests come first. And it's about time for someone to care more about us than about all the beneficiaries of IMF, the World Bank, WHO, UN (with all its agencies, funds, and sub-funds), NATO, and any other foreign support system that gets most of its financing from our personal pockets via career global manipulators in Washington, D.C.
And let me tell you something about those possibly "worried" nations: Their governments may officially declare themselves US allies and they may act as friends of Hillary's, but people there hate Americans. Let me repeat that: they hate us with passion. Many writers, journalists, filmmakers, historians, social and political analysts, here and overseas, have touched on the issue of global anti-Americanism. Most of them, including our own liberals, explain and justify even the most unfair hostility towards us by entire nations and groups. A logical person should not even bother with all that emotional theoreticism. All you need is to cross the border.
Anyone who traveled abroad (even as close as Canada, let alone Europe and further) and actually interacted with random people – not polite business partners in their office environments or paid service providers on the beaten paths, but with people on the streets, in cafes, in bars – can tell you about their personal interface with unabashed anti-Americanism: the way people look at you, the things people mutter under their breath, small bits that slip out in conversations, and even open hostility. Let alone the burning of an American flag I've witnessed on Trafalgar Square the last time I was going to the National Gallery in London. The truth is, you don't even have to go outside of NYC: half of the taxi drivers here have BBC UK stations on. Oh my God! The shit that pours out of those radios!
Why do they hate us, though? A lot of official data sources (BBC LOVES those Americanophobia polls) concentrate on "US cultural influence," such as it is. However, that would be the easiest thing to resolve, actually: if you don't like American stuff, stop going to McDonald's and your movie theaters – if there is no demand, there will be no supply and no "influence". But no, the fucking Russia with their 81% of anti-American sentiment (second largest in the world after Jordan) leaves and breathes American cinema and TV. And China (71%), being the largest movie market in the world, is singlehandedly responsible for all the bombastic crap that comes out of Hollywood nowadays. So, obviously, the supposed "influence" is not the reason for hatred.
What is, then? Well, let's sing it together: It's all about money! The jealousy! The primal coveting that the Judeo-Christian canons have been trying so hard to eradicate! American wealth has always been a sore spot for our "friends" and enemies alike. And I am not talking about super-rich either. It's the small things: the fact that so many of us can afford more than our peers overseas; that at each level of income we have bigger houses, more technology, and more food; that many of us can travel to their countries, but they cannot afford to come here; that our gas and coffee is still cheaper; that our cereal boxes and cat-food cans are bigger; that we have dozens of ketchups and mustards in an average supermarket, etc., etc. It's really primitive: "They've got more and we hate it!"
Except that the reality is not some two-dimensional surface. It is constructed on the principle of cause and effect. There are fundamental reasons why we've got what we've got and they haven't. And if I had to narrow it down to the most defining one, I'd say that it's all about the interpretation of Equality.
In many countries our politicians call allies (and some even adore, e.g. Senator Sanders), Equality is misinterpreted as a socialistic notion of public uniformity, with everyone in the same lower middle-range of bare necessities, regardless of their personal merits – gifts, entrepreneurship, ambition, drive. Whether you are a lousy or an extraordinary worker, your opportunities are "EQUAL," because you granted your government the responsibility for redistribution of wealth. On the other hand, our Constitution treats Equality in terms of fairness. It is defined as an opportunity to try your hardest and make the most of your own abilities. And this difference makes their hatred of us unjustifiable.
Yes, we keep losing a grip and sliding off our own foundation due to the government's meddling, overpopulation, pervasive nepotism, illegal immigration, useless liberal education, etc. But the bedrock is there; the shreds of meritocracy can still be detected; and we can still do better than any of our foreign allies. So, why would we care about them?
Trump obviously doesn't, but Hillary, on the other hand, must care! Why? Yet again, money. She needs them and she works hard to get them wherever she can. Just in the past few months Clinton has held 13 foreign fundraisers, including in London, Durban (South Africa), Munich, and Mexico City. Yes, the capital of Mexico, which illegally exports their devastated citizens through the US border. Apparently, it is much cheaper for Mexico to pay off Democratic presidential candidates than to create jobs. Hmm, that's a thought! I wonder who we can bribe to get rid of hipsters?
But seriously, who do I trust more? Someone who is 100% financially and ideologically independent and is hell-bent on making our country prosperous again? Or someone on the take from pretty much everyone and with the greatest concern for her own political status? For me the answer is obvious. But then again, unlike most of Hillary's supporters, I'm not the kind of person who would base her political allegiance purely on gender either. Yes, I'm all about "girl power," but I am not biased in any way! It appears that Ms. Clinton and I have the same physical attributes in the same places. But so what? The body parts is not how I evaluate humans. What's in her mind, in her heart, and in her soul is far more important to me, and it doesn't seem that we have too much in common in those departments.
Well, as long as we are on the topic of feminism, let me share the information that really rubs me the wrong way: It is a matter of public record that Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation has accepted money from King of Saudi Arabia (at least $10 million); King of Morocco ($1 million), and King of Oman ($1 million). How about these feminist countries where, at the very least, women must hide their hair under a scarf? Do I need to remind my readers that it is illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia? Are all those vagina sisters of Hillary okay with this?
Coincidentally, the other day one of my attorneys was trying to convince me that you cannot blame fundraisers for unscrupulously raising funds wherever they can. Just because Hillary takes money from whoever, he said, it doesn't mean that she will reciprocate with any favors. This lawyer, being a Philadelphia man himself, was using Bill Cosby's example to illustrate his argument. Why should Temple University, for example, even consider returning the money donated to them by the legally entangled comedian? The money was given in good faith and there are no strings attached, he asserted.
Except, there are strings. Strings are always attached to money. Obviously, my attorney friend is being very naive. Let's follow his example. If such situation arose, do you think for a second that Temple University would refuse to accept one of Cosby's kids or grandkids as their student, regardless of their GPA's and SAT scores? It is a well-known fact that parents' donations ($200,000 – $5,000,000) buy kids' ways into exclusive prep schools and Ivy League universities. And if you think that a valuable donor cannot suggest a grant candidate to the Research Allocation Committee, you don't know how this world works.
And that's educational institutions – that's all they can give in return for the money. Imagine what can be requested from the President of the United States! And don't doubt it for a second: when the donors come knocking on the door, Hillary will have no choice but to open it. Because if you refuse, there will be no more fundraising in the future – not for her, nor for anybody else. These are not alms, these are advances on political favors with global impact. That's how the system works. And she is no Trump. She is a part of the machine and she will not rise against it.
But forget all that political bullshit! This whole issue of Trump-worried allies is far more personal than Hillary's donations. Let's look inside our wallets, at our bank accounts, retirement funds, our very own economic well being; and with that in mind, ask yourself, America, do you want to be on good terms with some broke-ass foreigners, or do you want to rattle everyone's cage by having once again more personal wealth than your counterparts anywhere in the world?
The Frustrated CFO 