What price will Americans pay in the long term? Probably no more than the most isolated of all regimes in the world, that of North Korea.
This self enforced isolation adopted by the governance now in place in the territory once known as “the United States of America”, if it remains for more than a very few more years, shall be forced to turn to much the same means of compliance that has been so warmly embraced by the inhabitants of North Korea.
The People’s Republic of China is not advancing so much by their own bootstrap efforts, as they are being aided by the not very strategic retreat by the Current Regime now squatting in the White Hut.
We are the third most populous nation in the world. We have global interests including economic, trade, and national security. We can't isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. If we fail to lead, then we can expect things to happen that will threaten our interests. For example, if the Middle East were to descend into chaos and war, the flow of oil would be affected and that would have a disastrous impact on the global economy, of which we are a part. What happens in Europe, Japan, India, and China affects us. Not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
This self enforced isolation adopted by the governance now in place in the territory once known as “the United States of America”, if it remains for more than a very few more years, shall be forced to turn to much the same means of compliance that has been so warmly embraced by the inhabitants of North Korea.
We are not in self-enforced isolation. We are just not leading and shaping events to protect our national interests. We are just reacting to events and only acting when there is no other choice. We are reactive rather than being proactive.