America as number #1 is a relatively new idea in the nation's history, it did not really start until after World War I.
It is a multi-edge sword, use for many things, for pushing foreign aid, to getting kids to do more math homework, to justifying covert action, etc.
For many Americans, the USA as number #1 has become something they take for granted.
For the more informed people, and policy wonks, and most of the professional classes, number #1 is a goal and a direction, a constant hurdle. They don't take it for granted, and know that it has a high price.
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There is also a faction, usually on the technology side, that wants much more than number #1, they want hegemony and world domination.
It is not just the Linux people.
Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Apple, Ebay, Cisco, Intel and a dozen others don't just want to make tons of money - they want power and control, too.
But beyond them, the PayPal alumni - the PayPal mafia - wants to contol who you are and what you think. they funded Facebook, and movies, and now space ships.
See Elon Musk and Peter Theil on wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
The PayPal crowd -
en.wikipedia.org
Most of these people are big Ayn Rand fans.... |
