What's Tony Thinking

The Time of Chaos

How many times this week have I read or heard the words “uncertainty,” “chaos,” and “disruption”? Too many to count. In The Atlantic, journalist Jerusalem Demsas wrote an article titled “Trump UnLeashes Chaos Economy.”

“What we have,” says Demsas, “is chaos. One U.S. uncertainty index of economic policy, which goes back to 1985, has been higher at only one point in the past 40 years: when the coronavirus pandemic began. That, of course, was a global phenomenon that the United States could do little to avoid. What’s going on now, by contrast, is entirely self-inflicted.”

That is saying something as those forty years include the 9/11 terrorist attack and the 2008 – 2010 economic collapse and its aftermath. The self-inflicted part recall’s Lincoln’s warning that America’s collapse, should it come, will not be at the hands of foreign powers; it will be self-inflicted.

And Ezra Klein’s podcast today is headed “Is Trump ‘De-Toxing’ the Economy Or Poisoning It?”  He interviews the economic journalist Gillian Tett, who also brings her background as an anthropologist to bear on the current disruption. For Trump, says Tett, it’s all about projecting strength and dominance.

Money quote from Tett about our present economic situation: “So there’s a tremendous sense of fragility here, which is very ironic, given that they’re all about strength.” Exactly. None so weak as those absolutely convinced of their own strength.

At The Dispatch editor Kevin Williamson let ‘er rip over Trump’s assault on Canada in a piece titled, “Canada Is An Ally, Not An Enemy.”

“When the United States was attacked by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) did something it had never done before and has not done since: It invoked Article 5, the collective-defense provision at the core of the alliance. With Manhattan burning and the Pentagon in ruins, thousands of Americans dead, and the future uncertain, our allies came to our aid.

“And that included our nearest ally, Canada. Canada did not send a bloodied and wounded United States thoughts and prayers via social media: When it came time to go after Osama bin Laden et al. in Afghanistan, more than 40,000 members of the Canadian armed forces served in what was not, narrowly speaking, a Canadian cause. And 159 Canadian soldiers died there.

“That may not seem like a very large number, but it is 159 more than the Trump family has sent to fight for the American cause in the century and a half since that family’s first draft-dodging ancestor fled military service in Germany . . . During the Trump family’s time in the United States, Americans have fought in conflicts ranging from the Spanish-American War to the two world wars to Korea to Vietnam to the Gulf War to Afghanistan and Iraq. None of Trump’s ancestors served in any of those conflicts, and none of his progeny has, either.”

I heard at least three people in my art class yesterday say, “I don’t watch/ listen to the news any more.” Others nodded. Chaos, disruption and uncertainty are not most people’s cup of tea. While tuning out is not a great strategy, it is something one can understand.

Meanwhile, Linda and I have our own little disruption going on. A while back I mentioned the big damage a little water can do, via a roof leak. After the clean-up/ dry out phase (blowers, heaters, etc.), came the installation of new sheet rock stage, and now (hopefully last) repainting. To get ready for the painters, things had to be packed up and all furniture moved. The commotion made, Georgie, the dog, pretty anxious — and she isn’t the only one. Now, we’re out of our home for the better part of a week while the painters do their thing.

The bright side is that we’re spending the time with grandchildren in nearby Redmond. That said, we don’t see all that much of them because at ages 13, 10 and 7 they are quite busy.

I remind myself, and you, to keep breathing and praying, keep connecting with friends and loved ones and — in this almost spring season — treasure the beauty of creation, which God made by calling forth order out of chaos.