I really enjoyed this week’s class as we discussed the different potential threats to the United States’ power. Group 2’s focus on a global pandemic definitely caught my attention since I work in healthcare and often think about different scenarios that could happen. Zika alone this year caused a lot of fear, especially as it made its way into the United States, despite being largely confined to areas of Florida. This is definitely something that the United States should be better prepared for, however, as much as I enjoyed this discussion, I still agree with my group with inequality as the greatest threat to the United States.
As such a powerful nation, I think it’s important to recognize that the United States cannot make light of problems that could erode the country from within, many with a root cause of inequality. If policies and changes are not made by taking a closer examination of what is ailing this country, it’s possible this lack of self-awareness (or lack of action) may be our eventual downfall. Obviously, I think this is something that takes time and will not happen overnight but a problem that should not be ignored and under the right circumstances could threaten the power of the United States immensely.
This class taught me a lot - such as trying to understand the different motives and rationalizations that characterize the international system as we know it today. And, as an American, for me it has been helpful to get a more detailed picture of the international system’s composition and a more indepth understanding (or attempted understanding) as to why leaders make the decisions that they do - from engaging in wars, to agreeing upon allies, to coming together for peace agreements, etc. The international system is complex and made up of a multitude of distinct players and trying to understand this is important to future development and progress.
Thanks for a great class! :)
Jessica, your connection of Zika and fear is very interesting to me as I also think one of the horrifying things it promoted was the spread of misinformation. This is additionally terrifying because the scientists themselves did not know what were the long term effects of a zika infection.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how the US would have handled a similar rate of infection that Brazil had for example. Would we have more efficiently treated the sick babies? Would we have had scientists working on identifying treatments and causes earlier? Would we have simply invested in super mosquito repellent? Or would we have relied upon our diversity of climates and altitudes to limit its spread?
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a good example with the Zika virus and the fear it caused not just in South America, but also in the US and elsewhere. The US definitely needs to be better prepared to address infectious diseases, however, I still do not think that pandemics pose a greater threat to US power than the breakdown of the liberal order or climate change pose.
I agree that inequality can pose a threat to US power. The election of Donald Trump definitely will increase this threat. His plans to remove Obamacare will have the greatest impact on the working class and poor people. His promised tax cuts for the rich will only increase the gap between the rich (who will benefit) and the middle class (who will have to take the burden and will face a tax increase) as well as the poor.
The incoming administration needs to be aware that these plans will increase the inequality in the US. I agree with you, there needs to be more awareness of the causes of inequality and the government should take action to address it, rather than increasing it.