It is very early days in the ongoing U.S.-China trade disputes. After round one, America claims victory.   China also claims victory.  But if we do have to keep score, here’s the tie-breaker:  Schumer says China got the better of Trump, therefore, America really must have “won” because Schumer is beneath contempt.  He gives idiots a bad name.

President Trump said yesterday that China “agreed to open up” and suspend its trade barriers as part of the temporary tariff reduction deal.  Meanwhile, China cast the tentative agreement as vindication of its strategy.  Maybe both can be true; maybe it’s one of those win-win scenarios.  Indeed, Trump has said that free and fair trade will ultimately be good for all.

Nevertheless, if Xi Jinping (and Schumer) thinks China is winning, then good for them.  We are more confident and self-assured over here, whereas in China saving face is endemic to their culture, perhaps a reflection of bravado to veil their underlying inferiority complex.

Saving face includes preserving dignity, reputation, and promoting social harmony. Social harmony can have a dystopian connotation when it is not natural and organic; it can be a euphemism for enforced conformity.  Who can ever forget that weird and alarming presentation to the world during the Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony in 2008?

At first, it seemed awesome…then the militaristic overtones became apparent as a throng of humans-cum-automations moved in military precision.  There was no individuality. Contrast that to the spirited, freewheeling opening ceremony at the London Summer Olympics.  They weren’t trying to save face, or protect some peculiar sense of propriety, but just to have fun.

No wonder Schumer, desperately flailing to protect his own reputation against revolt, is declaring China the trade winner.  Like an unthinking automaton, he’s trying to regain some respectability and allegiance by marching in lockstep with other demented Dems.  So demented that they exhibit similar stifling group consciousness as the Chinese.  Having opposed President Trump just for the sake of it, Schumer is now trying to save face.

The wins for America keep coming, and, ultimately, the free world wins.  Meanwhile, even as investments flood into America, and even as our coffers overflow with customs duties, Schumer’s reputation is tattered, beyond saving face.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.