I have been very impressed with Notes from the Circus since I discovered your writing a few months ago. I particularly appreciate how you frame so many issues as moral issues - many of the writers I find here do not make that commitment. That said, I read this essay very carefully, looking for some mention of Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank, Israel... I didn't find it. The US has supported Israel militarily for decades. Meanwhile, international consensus has turned against what the IDF has done and continues to do on a daily basis. I am curious whether you have an opinion on this?
I’m very concerned about the lack of comments on the Gaza genocide. In one of the essays Mike, you even try to diminish it by saying it’s not as bad as the situation in Sudan where civilians are killed and displaced (that’s not happening in Palestine?) You refer to genocide in Ukraine (where civilians are getting killed but it’s not genocide - Putin doesn’t want to destroy their race, as far as he’s concerned, they’re already Russians). Other countries under attack haven’t had a blockade on food and medical aid, haven’t had UN aid workers and journalists targeted and murdered, haven’t seen farmlands systematically destroyed so as to prevent food from being grown, haven’t seen their populations evacuated to areas - in a trap - where they’re bombed.
But I heard Sam Harris say that people (horrified by genocide) who protest are antisemitic. Is that how you feel too? Netanyahu is very similar to Trump in some ways and he should be called out for what he is. The Israelis protested so effectively they blocked his efforts to destroy the judicial branch. Yet to protest in America against what Netanyahu does has become dangerous. Does AIPAC have too much hidden power in American politics?
Well said. The similarities between tRump and Netanyahu are evident to anyone who is paying attention. If it's important to call attention to the awful things the current American "administration" is doing, or to call out the ill will and hostility from Russia, China and Iran, it seems inconsistent at the least to ignore what Israel is doing in Gaza. Every day they kill more Palestinians and merely say "We'll look into it..."
It was interesting to see you curse for emphasis. Even the mytho-poetical has had quite enough of this BS. Your point and discussion of it is excellent, but I don't see that morality/democracy over profit, will ever become a thing in the American corporate world.
I prefer to think that we are all human beings. A few people in suits and politics, whatever country and ideology they are from, are responsible for the deaths of countless human beings.
As happens all too often, I got all the way to the bottom still not quite sure what you're talking about. Because a positive answer was not available I have to default to the negative one, to wit: that -- never mind what's going on right now in our news -- something else has been going on all along. Perhaps we should have been doing something about that before all of this happened?
That works for me; I'm there, too. I hope others were able to figure that out. There's probably a way to convey that message in the first paragraph.
Yes, bad faith has a long history in our country, and yes, if we ever extricate ourselves from the current predicament (not a sure thing, but, you know...), then we need to clean up the back story. Hell yes. Most are unaware of all that, and it's high time we linked the causes of our current plight so it doesn't happen "never again". Pragmatism be damned, the ethics underlie our future at every point. If we don't clean up the backstory, we'll suffer more of this shit. Thanks for itemizing so many of the things on that long agenda. Next up: what to do about any of that.
Liking your spirit, Mike. Word of caution: let's try to stay humble when pretending to be the epitome of moral leadership. We're all down with our faces in the dirt here. Yes, we can dust ourselves off, and reach out with clear communication. But condemning the leadership in Iran - which the US have helped to put in place - may be a little too conventient?
I genuinely don't know what you're talking about. This moral accounting method you're using seems very untenable to me. I say this not to be rude or confrontational. But a nation is not a person. It is not a moral entity unto itself. To account for morality in this way, is a moral category error.
I don’t think we’re born onto a "clean slate"—we inherit history, yes, and responsibility to understand it. But moral responsibility is fundamentally individual; it depends on our choices, our actions, and our commitments. To say a citizen automatically inherits a nation’s historical debts is to blur that important distinction. We inherit responsibility—but not collective guilt. Our moral task is clarity, accountability, and making better choices in the present, not endless atonement for the actions of others.
Fair position. I would dispute that the nucleus of morality is in the 'individual'. A contested concept, wouldn't you say? We emerge from a shared culture, and the notion of an individual existing separately from 'others' is the kind of craziness that got us here in the first place. That may sound a little out there, but this is in line with non-dual worldviews (Taoism, Tantra, Christian mystics) that resonate over here.
No one. I was asking about the companies that facilitate sales of technology into countries who use it to support authoritarianism and against their own people, to keep them down. I don’t think there is any way to stop this.
I don't read her comment as having "given into despair." I think she was asking a similar question that crossed my mind when reading your piece.
You wrote: "For decades, Western corporations and governments facilitated the transfer of cutting-edge technology to the Chinese Communist Party, knowing full well how that technology would be used."
Ok, so now the obvious questions that arise are, "Why is that allowed?" "Why is that not considered criminal behavior?"
Agreed that we not only have a responsibility as individuals, but as a nation, to engage in ethical behavior when dealing with other nations. But how does that get implemented or enforced? Do you see that as being possible when the profits of capitalist enterprises seem to always reign above all else, including any consideration of ethical responsibility?
Maybe it is possible. But boy oh boy, do we have our work cut out for us. Given my druthers, I'll focus on saving our democracy first...seems easier.
If we protect democracy in America and re-establish rule-of-law, why wold the world punish us for the forces that we internally defeated? This is a very confused question you are asking me, I think.
Perhaps I worded it poorly. On a daily basis, you document how the U.S. is rapidly becoming the type of state that needs to have justice imposed upon it by the liberal democratic order. I would expect within a few years this will get worse. You listed a number of things that would amount to justice. Do you expect within the next few years that what is left of the liberal democratic order should impose some justice on the United States? This was the idea that repeatedly occurred to me while reading, and I don’t think you brought it up, unless I skimmed past it.
To me, a logical extension of your essay is a call to the rest of the G7/AUSNZ/EU to be on high alert and prepared to take active steps towards justice. Obviously, there are tremendous practical downsides to such actions that make them unlikely, but it seems like the moral clarity you're pushing towards would still demand it.
I'm not thinking about what the US should impose upon itself after reestablishing democratic governance, or what the rest of the world should do AFTER that. When I said "by the end of the Trump regime", I meant between now and that time. Based on what we're already doing and what we are the path to do, is it incumbent upon others to act now or in the near future? If so, what should it look like? If not, why not?
I have been very impressed with Notes from the Circus since I discovered your writing a few months ago. I particularly appreciate how you frame so many issues as moral issues - many of the writers I find here do not make that commitment. That said, I read this essay very carefully, looking for some mention of Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank, Israel... I didn't find it. The US has supported Israel militarily for decades. Meanwhile, international consensus has turned against what the IDF has done and continues to do on a daily basis. I am curious whether you have an opinion on this?
https://substack.com/@mikebrock/note/c-127227058
I’m very concerned about the lack of comments on the Gaza genocide. In one of the essays Mike, you even try to diminish it by saying it’s not as bad as the situation in Sudan where civilians are killed and displaced (that’s not happening in Palestine?) You refer to genocide in Ukraine (where civilians are getting killed but it’s not genocide - Putin doesn’t want to destroy their race, as far as he’s concerned, they’re already Russians). Other countries under attack haven’t had a blockade on food and medical aid, haven’t had UN aid workers and journalists targeted and murdered, haven’t seen farmlands systematically destroyed so as to prevent food from being grown, haven’t seen their populations evacuated to areas - in a trap - where they’re bombed.
But I heard Sam Harris say that people (horrified by genocide) who protest are antisemitic. Is that how you feel too? Netanyahu is very similar to Trump in some ways and he should be called out for what he is. The Israelis protested so effectively they blocked his efforts to destroy the judicial branch. Yet to protest in America against what Netanyahu does has become dangerous. Does AIPAC have too much hidden power in American politics?
Well said. The similarities between tRump and Netanyahu are evident to anyone who is paying attention. If it's important to call attention to the awful things the current American "administration" is doing, or to call out the ill will and hostility from Russia, China and Iran, it seems inconsistent at the least to ignore what Israel is doing in Gaza. Every day they kill more Palestinians and merely say "We'll look into it..."
Thank you, Jeff.
I suspect you'd appreciate Alexander Vindman's writing. He frankly lays out why international relations' "realism" is indeed folly.
https://www.avindman.com/p/a-review-of-the-folly-of-realism
It was interesting to see you curse for emphasis. Even the mytho-poetical has had quite enough of this BS. Your point and discussion of it is excellent, but I don't see that morality/democracy over profit, will ever become a thing in the American corporate world.
I prefer to think that we are all human beings. A few people in suits and politics, whatever country and ideology they are from, are responsible for the deaths of countless human beings.
As happens all too often, I got all the way to the bottom still not quite sure what you're talking about. Because a positive answer was not available I have to default to the negative one, to wit: that -- never mind what's going on right now in our news -- something else has been going on all along. Perhaps we should have been doing something about that before all of this happened?
That works for me; I'm there, too. I hope others were able to figure that out. There's probably a way to convey that message in the first paragraph.
Yes, bad faith has a long history in our country, and yes, if we ever extricate ourselves from the current predicament (not a sure thing, but, you know...), then we need to clean up the back story. Hell yes. Most are unaware of all that, and it's high time we linked the causes of our current plight so it doesn't happen "never again". Pragmatism be damned, the ethics underlie our future at every point. If we don't clean up the backstory, we'll suffer more of this shit. Thanks for itemizing so many of the things on that long agenda. Next up: what to do about any of that.
🗽
Liking your spirit, Mike. Word of caution: let's try to stay humble when pretending to be the epitome of moral leadership. We're all down with our faces in the dirt here. Yes, we can dust ourselves off, and reach out with clear communication. But condemning the leadership in Iran - which the US have helped to put in place - may be a little too conventient?
I assure you, I played no role in positioning the Ayatollah into his perch of unchecked power.
Hahahah, I had a hunch. But yeah, claiming the moral high ground as an American is a delicate dance, my friend.
I genuinely don't know what you're talking about. This moral accounting method you're using seems very untenable to me. I say this not to be rude or confrontational. But a nation is not a person. It is not a moral entity unto itself. To account for morality in this way, is a moral category error.
Rrreally? Doesn't a nation have its debt to history, jointly carried by its citizens? We're not a clean slate when we're born, or are we, you think?
I don’t think we’re born onto a "clean slate"—we inherit history, yes, and responsibility to understand it. But moral responsibility is fundamentally individual; it depends on our choices, our actions, and our commitments. To say a citizen automatically inherits a nation’s historical debts is to blur that important distinction. We inherit responsibility—but not collective guilt. Our moral task is clarity, accountability, and making better choices in the present, not endless atonement for the actions of others.
Fair position. I would dispute that the nucleus of morality is in the 'individual'. A contested concept, wouldn't you say? We emerge from a shared culture, and the notion of an individual existing separately from 'others' is the kind of craziness that got us here in the first place. That may sound a little out there, but this is in line with non-dual worldviews (Taoism, Tantra, Christian mystics) that resonate over here.
How can we balance unfettered capitalism and moral dignity? Is that even possible?
Who is espousing "unfettered capitalism" here?
No one. I was asking about the companies that facilitate sales of technology into countries who use it to support authoritarianism and against their own people, to keep them down. I don’t think there is any way to stop this.
Well, then you've already given into despair. I reject despair.
I don't read her comment as having "given into despair." I think she was asking a similar question that crossed my mind when reading your piece.
You wrote: "For decades, Western corporations and governments facilitated the transfer of cutting-edge technology to the Chinese Communist Party, knowing full well how that technology would be used."
Ok, so now the obvious questions that arise are, "Why is that allowed?" "Why is that not considered criminal behavior?"
Agreed that we not only have a responsibility as individuals, but as a nation, to engage in ethical behavior when dealing with other nations. But how does that get implemented or enforced? Do you see that as being possible when the profits of capitalist enterprises seem to always reign above all else, including any consideration of ethical responsibility?
Maybe it is possible. But boy oh boy, do we have our work cut out for us. Given my druthers, I'll focus on saving our democracy first...seems easier.
By the end of the Trump regime, what type of accountability and justice do you expect the democratic world should impose on the United States?
If we protect democracy in America and re-establish rule-of-law, why wold the world punish us for the forces that we internally defeated? This is a very confused question you are asking me, I think.
Perhaps I worded it poorly. On a daily basis, you document how the U.S. is rapidly becoming the type of state that needs to have justice imposed upon it by the liberal democratic order. I would expect within a few years this will get worse. You listed a number of things that would amount to justice. Do you expect within the next few years that what is left of the liberal democratic order should impose some justice on the United States? This was the idea that repeatedly occurred to me while reading, and I don’t think you brought it up, unless I skimmed past it.
I think we should impose justice on the tyrants who seek to enslave us. Not the people of the United States. That's what I think.
To me, a logical extension of your essay is a call to the rest of the G7/AUSNZ/EU to be on high alert and prepared to take active steps towards justice. Obviously, there are tremendous practical downsides to such actions that make them unlikely, but it seems like the moral clarity you're pushing towards would still demand it.
I'm not thinking about what the US should impose upon itself after reestablishing democratic governance, or what the rest of the world should do AFTER that. When I said "by the end of the Trump regime", I meant between now and that time. Based on what we're already doing and what we are the path to do, is it incumbent upon others to act now or in the near future? If so, what should it look like? If not, why not?