April 5, 2026
By Stephen Stofka
I keep a thought bin of ideas for articles, then weave some of them together into a single essay. Sometimes finding that thread is difficult. This week, I am going to write on an assortment of these ideas.
The Nonchalant President
In early March, President Trump was nonchalant about rising gas prices. In an interview with the Reuters international news agency, he said “if they rise, they rise” (Source). A lot of Americans who voted for America First didn’t bargain for Americans Last. To elites like Trump, born with a golden spoon, the concerns of everyday Americans are trivial. The only thing Trump wants is their vote. Then comes the betrayal.
Energy as a Weapon
Green energy is locally produced, which can make many countries less dependent on the major producers of oil. I think that is a major reason why President Trump dislikes green energy. The U.S. is the leading producer of oil (Source) and that gives our country a geopolitical edge. The Middle Eastern countries account for a third of global oil production, which gives them a great deal of geopolitical importance despite the fact that their combined population is only 380 million, slightly more than the U.S. alone. International relations is a chess game of power played by individual nation states. The more powerful states, particularly a regional hegemon like the U.S., want to maintain or increase their economic edge over other countries to preserve their dominance.
There are several examples of dominant powers who sabotaged production in other countries to preserve their economic dominance. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain imposed punishing tariffs on India’s textile industry so that India could not compete against Britain’s textile industry. Britain’s Navigation Acts mandated that British colonies could only trade using British ships. Britain actively suppressed manufacturing in its colonies, using them only as a source of raw goods which were finished by Britain’s own manufacturing industries. In 2010, China imposed restrictions on the export of rare earths, giving them effective control of key components of industrial production around the world (Source).
Strategic Power
Some of the president’s many miscalculations in the Iran War arise from a lack of appreciation for strategic power. Volume, not cunning or planning, appeals to him, so he engages in “bomb, baby, bomb” and “drill, baby, drill.” More, more, more is not always better. China controls production of most of the world’s rare earths, a key component in many electronics systems, including those of our military systems. When Trump threatened high tariffs on China last year, they threatened to choke off the supply of rare earths and he capitulated. Did he learn his lesson? No. Iran controls 20% of oil production that is shipped through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow strip of water where Iran can destroy any oil tanker that does not play by Iran’s rules. Did Trump consider that? No. Strategic control of resources can be as powerful as a fleet of bombers.
Declining Leadership
President Trump has the attention span of a tweet and so his staff has to keep his daily security briefings short. His daily updates on the war consist of two-minute compilations of targets bombed (Source). This would not be unexpected in an adolescent. We should expect more from a grown man who is the leader of the most powerful country on the planet. Why have the American people put Biden and Trump, two doddering seniors, in such a position of power?
Sacrifice
More American soldiers have died in the Iran war than Israeli soldiers. It is the young who give up their lives in war, sacrificing many more years of life than the older men who commit them to that fight. The question of reinstituting the draft has come up. The 62-year old comic Rob Schneider thinks we should have a military draft (Source). He was 12 when the draft was ended and is not eligible for the draft at his advanced age so it is easy for him to be rah-rah about the draft. It would take an act of Congress to reinstitute the draft but Trump has shown a persistent ability to bypass the subservient Republican majority in Congress. In 2018, the CDC reported that the military considered 71% of eligible youth physically unfit for military service (Source). They have had trouble filling the ranks of a volunteer military service.
A Policy of War
As I wrote last week, we are “celebrating” 25 years of continual war. John Mearsheimer is a political scientist known for developing the theory of Offensive Realism. This theory focuses on states which are great powers, a state which is dominant in its region of the world. The U.S., China and Russia are examples of great powers. India, Japan the European Union are sometimes included. The theory claims that these great powers must maximize their power relative to other countries to ensure their survival.
The international system is anarchic, meaning that there is no central authority. In such an environment, a great power cannot know the intentions of other countries, so the safest course of action is to become as powerful as possible while preventing rival countries from gaining greater power. This leads states to compete aggressively, expand influence, and exploit opportunities to weaken other countries. This view sees international cooperation as a temporary aligning of opportunities because gains by one state are often at the expense of other states. Conflict is a structural feature of international relations. To demonstrate his point, Mearsheimer reminds us that the U.S. has been at war of some type since the end of World War 2. These include the Cold war with the U.S.S.R, or hot wars like Vietnam, Iraq, the Balkans, and Iran. He referred to the U.S. as a “crusader state” (Source – video).
The Ethics of War
On February 28th, the first day of the war against Iran, U.S. planes bombed a girl’s school, killing about 170 students. The incident happened because military leaders had used out of date maps and failed to double check before setting the targets. Trump was unconcerned about the deaths, absolving the U.S. for any responsibility. At first, he suggested that the Iranians might have been at fault. What I noticed was that signature shrug of his shoulders, indicating his casual dismissal of the deaths. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the Access Hollywood tape recorded Trump saying he was entitled to grope women because he was a star (Source). Does his casual dismissal arise from that sense of entitlement? Trump dislikes rules and institutions. For him, there is only power. He has the same cold-blooded look of nihilism in his eye as the character Malcolm McDowell played in the 1971 movie Clockwork Orange.
Taking Back Power
Congress passes the laws but doesn’t deal with the consequences of their implementation. Perhaps if they did do more administration, they would write better laws or more readily modify those laws which they have written. In the 19th century, Congress took a more active role in administering the programs they enacted. The National Archives contain the records of Congressional committees that decided the pensions of soldiers, an administrative task now done by the Veterans Benefits Administration, a department of Veterans Affairs and part of the Executive branch (Source).
Searching for Truth
In grade school, we are presented with questions where there are many wrong answers but only one right answer. When was the Declaration of Independence? How much is 3 times 4? We get the answer.
In high school, we are presented with questions for which there are several “right” answers. In English class, students might be asked “Why did the character in this story make this decision?” In History class, they might be asked, “What was the primary cause of this war?” In Social Studies class, students might be asked, “Should an individual sacrifice for the greater good?” In a Science class, they might be asked, “How to best design this experiment to test this hypothesis?” We explore the answers.
In college, we study the methods of answering questions. These include the frameworks of investigation, various models and schools of interpretation, the types of evidence and which are more reliable. Lastly, we are asked to formulate our own question and design a method of answering that question, often having to explain why we chose that method. We create the questions.
In the comments to a well written essay on social media, I have noticed that the comments often neglect the reasoning we learned in high school. The writers of these comments seem to be stuck in grade school, believing that there is only one answer to complex social and political problems. Coincidentally, they have that one answer and are willing to share it in their comment! Yes, we are so grateful for your generosity and wisdom. And with that, I hope to see you next week.
Finally
P.S. check out this anime video of a solution to the immigration issue and have a chuckle.
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Photo by Nils Söderman on Unsplash
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