Also just FYI, use of sanctions against supposed bad actors like Russia has the effect of undermining the USD as a reserve currency. So it's going to go away eventually anyways. Maybe it's better to do it on our own terms.

>lacking self criticism

I really don't think the US has any shortage of self-criticism. I am criticizing US policy at this very moment! It is you who defends current US policy and says it is good (for the US at least). I am the critic here.

But if you really believe what you're saying about self-criticism, that's evidence for my position that the US should not play world police. If we're incapable of self-criticism, we will do a bad job at world policing.

>TLDR: The US military backs the dollar as international trade currency, which puts all other nations in a depending position to lend USD. This allowed the US to cheaply amass a gigantic debt that in turn allowed ridiculous (military) budgets.

"There once was a fisherman relaxing on the beach, catching just enough fish to feed his family. A businessman told him he should work hard, hire employees, catch more fish, and grow a big company—then, after many years, he could retire and live a peaceful fisherman's life. The fisherman smiled and said, ‘But isn’t that what I’m doing right now?’"

Assuming you are right: We need the debt to fund our military. We need our military to borrow for our debt. Why are we playing this game, exactly? It's a cyclone of vice.

Personally, I think the USD would actually be a stronger reserve currency if we reduced international adventurism. This would reduce the incentive of other nations like Russia and Israel to interfere in our politics, and thus improve our institutional stability. Switzerland is very stable, and an attractive investment destination, because it is known to be neutral.

It's also not clear to me if reserve currency status is a good thing. It makes our exports less competitive, and increases our trade deficit. It's like eating cookies for every meal. Sure, you're getting a lot of calories. But it's not good for your health in the long term.

If you look at the GDP trendline, it's been the same regardless of USD reserve status. So I'm additionally just not sure this matters either way.

In any case, if you really believe what you are saying, you should be very happy about my advocacy, since it increases the chance that your nation's currency becomes the new reserve currency. Oh boy, your country might take on a ton of debt and become the new self-appointed world police, hated by all, with constant foreign interference in your politics! Isn't it grand?

News to me.

If you look at the Wikipedia page, my usage is fairly typical. It's a vague term which can be applied to critics of US foreign policy who want us to stop being the world police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Americanism

>people abroad who criticize these things recognize that not every American agrees with these policies

Pretty common nowadays for all of the US to be blamed for Trump's election. See this discussion from the other day. No one outside the US said I shouldn't be blamed for the votes of my neighbors: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45035046

In any case, the original discussion is related to freedom of speech. The US is usually criticized more for this, regardless of how other countries are doing. See e.g. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/08/europe-fre... This represents an anti-American bias, which is due to our foreign policy.

>its meaning is about ethnicity

"American" is not an ethnicity.