I can’t help disagreeing with a lot of that. I would think that the best way to merge first world problems with third world problems would be to import a large number of third world citizens into the country without consideration for assimilation to an American Ideal (or at least something close enough — recognizing the separation of church & state, cultural mores regarding sexual consent, etc). Looking at what’s happening in Europe these days with a critical eye to observe a harsh reality that we’d rather wasn’t, can teach our policy makers valuable lessons about what can, and cannot, be accomplished when it comes to assisting war refugees (that’s generously assuming those policymakers have the interests of their constituents at heart).

In fact, I would say the best way to assist war refugees would be to avoid creating them in the first place. That is, we should stop meddling in minor conflicts. We should stop fomenting rebellions for ostensibly ideological, but more likely venal financial reasons.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to helping the third world lift their standards of living. But we should help the third world in the third world, and we should not involve the military. Then again, maybe it would be better to simply allow small conflicts to play themselves out, while accepting that not every culture is best served by democratic governance, or western notions of liberty — as evidenced by very lengthy histories that would seem to indicate that. Ironically, through our attempts to forcibly export these concepts (again, ostensibly) it would seem that we’re only succeeding in jeopardizing our own liberty and democratic governance. Basically, I think it would be better to allow America to be American, and the rest of the world should be themselves — whatever that may be.

In a more general sense, regarding Trump’s recent election (full disclosure: I voted for him), there is definitely a lot of uncertainty about what path he’ll seek in managing the executive branch. On the other hand, it’s impossible to have promise, without some degree of uncertainty. It’s also natural to fear the unknown. But Washington has been non-functional, especially in the realm of representing the un-rich, for a very long time. Something must change. America is often praised for it’s dynamicism — “the great experiment”. Well, Trump is an experimental president. It could go poorly, but it could go well, and there’s only one way to find out. In any case, it would be better if politicians were less removed from those they purport to represent, and as unbelievable as it may sound, Trump’s election is a step in that direction (against all odds, I might add). So yes, there’s uncertainty in the outcome, but nothing worth having is gained without risk. And the willingness to take that risk, and rise to the occasion, is what separates the meek from the brave. Let’s see if America’s still got it.