Trade Agreement....We Get The Money....But Give Up The Friendships And Respect

                I had a few peccadillos as a teenager growing up. One sprouted up at the age of 18....alcohol....and lasted about a decade until God had mercy upon me. In November of 1979....after my father died of cirrhosis of the liver....this 46 years ago....I made a vow....and God enabled me to keep it....as I have never had more than one drink in any one day...beer or wine or a mixed drink.
                There was only one incident in my teens. My friend and I were picked up....stumbling home inebriated....and put in a cell. A couple things about that. This was our hometown....and we knew and liked the older experienced policeman who hauled us in. They followed the protocol and brought us before the magistrate....this only an hour after we were picked up stumbling home....and then called my friend's parents and my mother to come and get us.
                Shortly afterwards I joined the army....for four years....and there was something that I very much wanted to do in the army.....but you had to have a top secret clearance. There was no guarantee when you went to the Federal Building and joined that you would get the clearance. 
                 It was a little nerve wracking but I had a few things going for me. The chief of police was the father of one my best friends....and I spent many days in his house. He knew me very well. Another friend's grandfather was the mayor who lived across the street from me....and he knew me as someone who respected his elders. They were my references for that top secret clearance.
                 It was announced yesterday that the United States and Japan entered into a trade agreement. Trump of course says that it will be great for Americans. There are no such concerns as pandemics and war and natural disasters with Trump. He cannot see any further than the end of his term. In 2018 one of his top economic advisors warned him that if he continues with trillion dollar omnibus bills that it will all come to a head about the time that his eight years would end. His answer was...."I'll be gone then!"
                 This is what is happening everywhere today.....we threaten....they stew....maybe a trade accord is announced....maybe not....maybe there are smiles....but one thing is for certain....we once had a friendship with that country....but it is today no longer a freindship.....it's just a deal. We had our differences over the decades but we trusted each other....and were allies.....and would be there for each other if needed. This all was second nature to Americans. As I grew up....Japan and England and France and all of these countries were our friends and allies. You did not even think about it.
                  If back when I joined the army....had I been a troublemaker....who did not respect my elders....and did not have those friends....I may not have been granted that military intelligence clearance that I needed!
                  No one can really trust America today....and with good reason. We might be there if needed....and we just might not. It depends on what is in it for us and if they have been scratching our back lately.
                  This is what you get when money and riches rule you.....when you demand everything that you say that you deserve. Maybe you get the money....but you lose the friends....and their respect for you. Maybe they would be there for us if needed.....and maybe they wouldn't?
                   There is more than one meaning for the word 'trade' here....for we have traded something. We traded friendship and respect....for profits and glory.