Now, America Is Hurting...Really Hurting
The backstory is simple. I discovered my family in Myanmar a dozen years ago. I care about them and have done what I can to help them on their journey down their yellow brick road. This essay deals with Ti Ti, my oldest granddaughter. Aside from being a dotting grandfather, Ti Ti is intellectually an extremely gifted 21-year-old.
However, when we first met, Ti Ti was 9, and she wanted to play Scrabble with me. Let me correct that. She wanted to beat, which she did.
I have spent over a dozen years in college, graduate, and post-graduate universities. Additionally, I spent twice as many years teaching at the college level, and it isn’t difficult to recognize this kind of intellectual giftedness.
On my second trip to visit my family, Ti Ti and her parents discussed enrolling her at a college preparatory high school in Taunggyi. Ti Ti graduated from that high school and was awarded the best in math among all students in Shan State.
Ti Ti took her first college class from me. Her online class happened to be the last class I taught before I retired when I was 80.
During that time period, Ti Ti tried to get a student visa, come to the States, and attend the college where I was teaching. However, for some unknown reason, a male staff member at the US embassy rejected her application all three times for a student visa. Therefore, I wrote to the head of the mission at our embassy in Yangon. The embassy hasn’t had an ambassador since the early 20s.
I provided the head of mission with all of Ti Ti’s documents, including what Ti Ti recalled about each interview and various other material. I did get a response to my email from that person. That person wrote that her gatekeeper provided that person with information about Ti Ti’s situation. Obviously, the head of mission didn’t read my email.
There I was being roadblocked by the person with all the data related to Ti Ti and the male employee who rejected her. To say that I was upset by the unethical treatment the Ti Ti and I received is an understatement. If I were in the State Department and had all the documents, I would investigate three people at the US Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar. I also would be concerned about my job if I were one of these three employees of the embassy.
So, I called the phone number of the State Department in Washington and couldn’t actually talk to someone. The answering machine would transfer me to the department that the machine thought I should talk with, and I left my name, phone number, and a brief reason for calling. I did that over a dozen times over several weeks, and no one ever called. That didn’t stop me. One of my mentors is Andrew Weissmann. I discovered him as the head of the Mueller Special Counsel.
Instead of the runaround at the embassy and the State Department, I’d call my mentor. Granted, that seems a bit arrogant. I’m just one person in America who was bothered about the treatment of my granddaughter. Nonetheless, I believe that he would provide me with advice or assist me in some way. It isn’t arrogance on my part, but it is that Weissmann is a caring person.
I called his office at NYU, where he was teaching. I told the person who answered my call that I wanted to talk to him. That person was annoyed by my calling her. It turned out that she was a teaching assistant who was monitoring an exam. I said to call me when she was free. Apparently, she is still monitoring that exam, or my request wasn’t important.
Talk about the feeling, “It's déjà vu all over again.” It is the indifference that I felt when dealing with the embassy. It has hurt Ti Ti and her grandfather. That is the backstory of one gal in Myanmar and one American. I feel like I failed my granddaughter. I’m 83, and my clock is ticking louder and louder.
I still read and listen to my mentor's insights. All Americans can benefit from his Weltanschauung. I was watching a recent video of Weissmann talking about Trump and Carney. Trump has suggested that Canada become the 51st state, and they would kowtow to his tariffs. Trump called Carney a national security threat. Carney didn’t respond. As Weissmann put it: “For three full days, Ottawa went dark.” His office only said that they were going to “evaluate” their choices. Carney was talking with Asians countries about trading partners: China, Japan, and South Korea.
One example had to do with oil. American refineries were based on Canadian heavy crude. When Canada cuts off exporting heavy crude to the US, we will have to retrofit their refineries to handle Middle Eastern lighter crude.
So, Carney is no longer playing cards with the US; they are playing cards with other players.
The question is whether Trump will back down, which is abhorrent for him. If he stands and fights, Canada can withhold selling oil to the US. If Trump capitulates to Canada, Carney can still ignore him. Either way, Canada has Trump in a bind. The problem isn’t merely with crude oil, but it is with liquefied natural gas, AI, car equipment, and all other items that Canada once traded with the US.
When your closest ally, the nation that literally shares your values, your language, your border, your blood, when that ally looks at you and says, “We can't trust you anymore.” The rest of the world takes notes. Denmark is taking notes. Australia is taking notes. Every country that has ever relied on Washington's word is now running the same calculation. If they do this to Canada, what would they do to us? And the answer to that question is reshaping alliances, trade routes, and military partnerships across the globe as we speak. This isn't just about tariffs. This is about the architecture of the free world.
This article begins with how Ti Ti and I were hurt because of three American citizens at the US Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar. We are two small and insignificant people in an ocean of humanity. That was a tragedy for us. Nonetheless, this essay ends with our idiocratic president, which is both tragic and extremely hurtful to our nation and the entire world order.
