Donald Trump’s speech before the United Nations this week revealed one thing very clearly…

that he does not embrace the concept of the Big US!

He unveiled his “America First” doctrine in dramatic form, encouraging other nations of the word to similarly embrace sovereignty and independence.

While that might sound good to some, it flies in the face of the world as it currently exists in the year 2017. A world in which people, goods, money and ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads move openly and freely across borders.

Trump is gaining a worthy reputation as the “pull-out king”, pulling out of trade agreements, anti-nuclear proliferation treaties, and global efforts to combat climate change.

In fact, I would opine that Donald Trump is leading us and the world in a very dangerous direction.

A world in which nations engage in a “we first” zero-sum ideology, as the one Trump espoused in that divisive speech, is a world likely headed for disaster.

Isn’t it already scary enough that we have category 5 hurricanes lining up in the Atlantic, earthquakes shaking the foundations of the world’s largest cities, and nuclear missile tests being conducted over the heads of people who already endured the horror of that type of warfare?

In short, this president scares the hell out of me!

The Trump doctrine should come as no surprise to anyone. It’s exactly in line with his campaign rhetoric. Many of us thought, or hoped, he would tone that down…however, he instead seems hellbent on ratcheting it up.

Trump has always operated with this zero-sum mentality, in his business dealings, as well as his personal life. You hit me, I hit back three times as hard, he likes to boast.

In fact, modern-day conservatism seems to have taken this myopic me-first turn that foments fear as a political strategy. This is not a unique phenomenon. It’s been used for centuries. It was used by the democrats in the post-civil war south in order to disenfranchise and castrate (socially and economically) the blacks, using Jim Crow laws, segregation, and white supremacist terrorism.

So, there’s really nothing “new” here.

And of course fear did get Trump elected. It tends to work on a certain segment of the population. A segment that embraces the status quo and fears any force that risks disruption.

Granted, right now there are disruptive forces at work. The population is rapidly diversifying ethnically, in terms of sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and certainly in culture and color.

Two pathways are clearly emerging for the future…

the path of the Trump doctrine, the one that embraces the dogma of division, or one that embraces the concept of the Big US…

that we’re all really in this boat together.

You see, Trump can call global warming a hoax until he’s a bluish-tinted orange in the face, but that doesn’t make it any less than a scientific fact.

We can choose to pull up our sovereign ladders and thumb our nationalist noses at the losers on the outside. That’s the direction Trump is leading the world in…he along with other similarly-minded leaders.

Or we can embrace the fact of connection, interdependence and cooperation.

Will Trump’s dogma of division work?

Well, it never has before. In fact, that type of leadership has in the past ultimately spelled disaster for its proponents, but not before wreaking mayhem on the rest of the world.

In a world in which human civilization is fast becoming completely connected and interdependent, I don’t really think it will work this time either.