How to Lose a Civilization
After Trump won, there were murmurs in the West that Angela Merkel was the new “leader of the free world”, a title associated with the US. This was such a stupid though that most non-Western people smirked at it, “How many divisions does Merkel command? If she is the leader, Vladimir Putin must be laughing”. But (lack of) military might aside, does Germany in any way make for a good leader of the West? She certainly has one of the key things needed for the job, namely hypocrisy. After the recent terrorist attack on the St. Petersburg metro, Berlin refused to light up the Brandenburg Gate in the colors of the Russian flag, a gesture they have shown for previous terrorist attacks in France and Britain. Ah yes, it was “gunmen” in Mumbai, but terrorists in Europe. And Russia? Serves them right for interfering in Syria. And Chechnya. But is just hypocrisy enough for the job? The Americans don’t show any great remorse for their worst acts. Like what they did to the native Indians o...