Brinksmanship

In post WWII politics, brinksmanship, the practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, was political gospel, epitomized by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and the Cold War of the 50's that gave us the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 where the US and USSR brought the threat of nuclear extinction "to the brink". Thankfully, in 1962, Khrushchev blinked, although I believe there were two blinks - the US coincidentally removed some missile sites in Turkey shortly thereafter. Sanity prevailed.

Back then threats of the 'bomb' and fear of 'preemptive strikes' were part of daily life but over time these worries subsided as the Berlin Wall fell and the USSR crumbled. But I am old enough to remember the tension of those momentous 13 October days. Schools staged "duck and cover" drills instructing students to kneel under their desks with hands covering their heads. Bizarre. Walter Cronkite's newscasts were grim.

Our current political environment seems to have regressed to the days of being constantly on edge as brinksmanship is reincorporated across the board as the first policy option. The world is being managed by the 'Art of the Deal'. Brazen threats have displaced diplomacy and compromise.

Tariffs and threats of tariffs to force the world into economic submission. Bomb your enemies into submission. Deport your population into homogeneity. Eliminate entire agencies, cut funding and generally inject chaos into government. Threats to sovereign countries with invasion and annexation. Passively watching Russia's unending conflict with Ukraine with nuclear threats rampant. Israel and Iran at war (again) with more nuclear threats and calls for 'unconditional surrender'. Marines on the streets. Denial of due process and abductions off the streets generating fear. Increasingly virulent political language. Unpardonable pardoning. A politically motived assassination of a beloved Minnesota legislator. Pressure on Congress to pass unpopular measures under the threat of being "primaried". (The obsession of members of Congress to retain their office at the cost of abandoning any integrity they might have had when entering that august body is unconscionable.)  

We have of course frequently witnessed threat followed by pull-back followed by re-threat - a seeming endless cycle. This constant bombardment of crises push people into despair. No wonder. I do not trust the judgement of this administration to know where the brink is or how to avoid it. And judging by the number and size of protests, I am not alone. I had expected the Supreme Court to serve as the counter balance, but now, with a hyper-sensitive 'popularity hound' in charge, I believe the court of public opinion is the last bulwark. 

Copyright ©  2025  Dave Hoplin