Try to see it for what it is: the Americans you would wish were in charge have had their power and representation stripped away, and an empire has been brought low. Americans used to be quite proud, and this sort of sentiment from one would have been unimaginable twenty years ago.

You’re probably correct that external forces aren’t going to effect instant or significant change. Empires come down in a specific way, usually for internal reasons, right?

The end of an empire is too big for any one person to feel like they can have an effect. We’re all just caught in the gears of history.