The USA is analogous to the Soviet Union. Fake food, fake happiness, fake or poor quality everything- even beyond just goods and services. American speech is fake, the political class, intentionality, even well meaning people are fake. Nothing is meaningful with intention. Their democracy is fake, and so is their standing and success. All fake. Their clothes are cheap slop, everything is brand obsession but with zero substance, all marketing. Brand obsession might as well be considered a form of propaganda at this point, as the line between branding and political influence is blurry. They destroyed what semblance of country and community they once had.

They're on the verge of having one helluva hangover when they sober up.

The worst part is, they don't know it. They are living in a bubble that is bombarded with corporatism/ political propaganda.

BP are starting to trade in RMB. How's that for US "power"

They invented driving to a place, to go for a walk.

Only propaganda kept the image of the US alive, and their sole position as THE military superpower meant everyone had to just take the long shaft of American intervention, either the easy way or the hard way, but it ain't the early 00s anymore. Also, American culture has progressively lost its mask (and social media like TikTok just tore it off, basically), so the ugliness of imperialism and the disgusting selfishness mixed with post-relativist amorality just destroyed any "face" the US had. 🤷

Though laughing about the current regime in USA is an understandable reaction, it's also at the same time not a laughing matter at all. It's a bit like a great comedian or clown who is very entertaining and goofy at first but at the end he randomly kills 1 person from the audience. Still a funny act? No. Because at the end of this craziness, people will needlessly suffer and/or die.

The country still has huge world-wide influence, and if that influence originates from crazies, that's not great for anyone, neither for US citizens nor for any other country in the world which has to at least partly deal with the US somehow. It is, however, a great and very visible warning sign for other countries to hopefully not follow the US into such craziness.

46% of people across 29 countries still believing that "the US will have a positive influence on world affairs" is insane

I'm choosing to believe that they think the collapse of US empire will have positive ripples globally

No worries. It's a laughingstock in the USA as well.

That this reaction didn't happen during any Bush or Reagan administration is stunning.

The only people laughing are Russia and China. The rest of us are fucking terrified.