Watching American politics unfolding into the Nov Presidential elections is like death by a thousand paper cuts. Non-Americans can genuinely see the slow decline of the once-great nation imploding from within as a divided nation fights against itself.
This week on Thurs, it was the first presidential election debate hosted live by CNN. We see 2 old men battle out on stage to get voters to decide who will be the best candidate to lead America next. One lied through the 90 minutes and avoided answering questions by pivoting to nonsensical matters. The other had a slow start, stuttered/froze up, and blabbed incoherently at times.
As one commentator had summarized, it was an embarrassment for America on the world stage. Is that what it has become? A nation with such low selection standards for the role of the most powerful person in the world.
The country has basically split into 2 camps of diverse and opposing views. Each side stops whatever the other side proposes, damn the view of the majority. The refusal to talk and compromise to get to a middle ground of constructive debate and discussion seems alien nowadays. What happened to adult supervision and being bi-partisan in the government? We see petty fights as a total waste of time with sanctioned inquiry committees going nowhere. It is a total embarrassment for all to see.
What really amazed me is the raw lack of morality and basic human ethics the MAGA supporters have been displaying for Trump. Facts are twisted or false narratives are termed “alternate facts”. The refusal to accept factual data is astonishing. Double standards are applied. Trump can do no wrong but the other side cannot do the same. Even the religious conservatives seem to bend over backwards for him if the end justifies the means.
The extreme left of the Democrats are also at fault for causing the divide. Trying to force their “wokeness” on the majority causes the conservative right to push back hard by siding with the orange one, regardless of his many shortcomings. The take-no-prisoners attitude from both sides hardens each party to dig in and create a moat around their entrenched beliefs, be it right or wrong. The refusal to talk to the “enemy” fuels anger and accusations, giving rise to absurd conspiracy theories that spin out of whack on social media.
If you refuse to follow the rule of law, you cannot insist that the other side have to. If you commit a crime, you cannot brush it under the carpet and go after the other side for similar slip-ups. All these imply to me that America is on a slow decline to give up its superpower status as the moral arbitrator on the global stage.
As outsiders, we have seen the other side of America’s one-sided might in many countries. It seems like an “I can do anything I want to you but you can’t” attitude. Many have questioned the hypocrisy of certain actions and if it was more about self-interest rather than taking the moral high ground of democracy. BRIC countries are more wary of US intentions and are ganging up to provide an alternative path of over-dependence on the almighty US dollar.
With the Nov presidential elections only 5 months away, I can only imagine what sort of chaos can build up in the next few months. AI fake videos on social media could run amok and confuse everyone. No one believes the official news media anymore and instead rely on their own “trusted” sources aka Facebook, TikTok and the rabbit holes they have fallen into.
It is indeed terrifying times to know that any individual can easily create and spread disinformation to the masses by the clicks of their keyboards. Bad actors with an agenda to harm will aim to inflict maximum damage with minimum effort. We are into wild times ahead…
On a happier note on the personal job front, we have finally completed all the required procedures and administrative steps to launch our first sustainable investment fund after many months of preparation. The fundraising stage can start as we gather firm commitments to subscribe to the fund.
Private equity has had a tough year as interest rates remain high after the Fed rate hikes in 2022. People in the market have also mentioned that several existing PE funds have difficulty trying to execute their exit strategy. Without a low cost of financing to provide leverage, forecasted returns for potential buyers can be nonexistent. This in turn has made investors wary of getting into PE funds.
But yet we will try to raise funds in the next few months anyway. I see that the stars are aligned in our favour to pursue the sustainability cause. Climate change is real and our fund’s investment in renewable energy assets is in the right direction to encourage an adoption to minimize global warming. The fund will be a new asset class with real ESG assets that cannot be accused of greenwashing while providing investors with an attractive yield. It’s low risk and bond-like returns will certainly provide an ease of mind that can appeal to investors with a sustainable investment mandate.
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