The blowback from the Monroe Doctrine is here.
Under the Monroe Doctrine, as implemented, democracy only exists in Latin America so long as it results in policies we like. Over two centuries the United States has invaded most countries in the region and used its military to control the rest.
From the “filibusters” who sought to create slave states in Central America, to the “banana republics” forced to grow fruit at United Fruit’s price in the early 20th century, to the assassination of Salvador Allende, the U.S. has used its veto over Latin politics to thoroughly emasculate the people of this hemisphere. For a Latin American, government is like a hurricane or an earthquake, something to be lived through, and over which you have no control.
That’s what Trump has brought to the United States.
It should not be surprising that many Latin American citizens supported Trumpism as it ranged across the southern U.S. and eventually took over Washington itself. It’s what they’re familiar with. As they and their ancestors learned, reformers are only morning glories, as likely to become tyrannical as any military junta.
The moves of Florida and Texas to implement one-party government, and the more recent moves of the national Republican party, represent comfort to many Latin American men. Absolutism is what they expect within their families. It’s the way it has always been. Government is the father with a strap, the military an ultimate means of punishment, the church a more usual means of control. The idea that government should serve people, that it should be representative of free men and women, has always been a temporary aberration back home, an excuse for the latest tyranny.
This is just the way it is.
Why It Happened Here
I spent half my career studying American political history but came to the wrong conclusions.
I saw the rise and fall of industries mirroring American political progress. It’s true that business controls our fate, but I believed the tech industry would be as enlightened as manufacturers were a century ago.
I was wrong. I was completely wrong.
Tech moguls are no different from the railroad barons of the late 19th century, or the slaveowners who preceded them. They’re focused on their own competitive needs, and don’t give two shits about the general welfare.
In this decade, the attitude has brought American industry unprecedented global power. The use of stock equity as a measure of wealth, and AI’s rise as the ultimate control point, have made the Great Game the only game in town. Crossing the chasm to domination in AI is all that Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and their brethren care about. That millions of people, or billions, might be broken in the process is none of their concern.
Thus, we have a 19th century political model imposed upon the 21st century. Read the history of that era, not just political history but social history. The great movements that resulted in progressivism, and its minor reforms, fought a continuous uphill battle against an establishment that turned a blind eye to Jim Crow at home, and sponsored imperialism abroad. The racism of “liberal heroes” like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson is obvious when you open your eyes to it. When the implementers of those policies, like Smedley Butler, acted against them, they were erased from the story, win or lose. It was people like Douglas MacArthur, who broke up the Bonus Army, who then won promotion and our World War II commands.
The Long Twilight Struggle
I won’t be around to see how all this plays out. It is for future generations to fight, to win, or to lose.
I was naïve in my study of history. I was wrong. As a result, I have little advice that would be meaningful for any children or grandchildren. Knowing future disasters are coming doesn’t make you resilient against them. Any strength you have must come from within.
