American families scramble for groceries, but Trump throws a blowout at Mar-a-Lago. The theme? “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” It’s straight-up in-your-face provocation.
Maybe Trump’s not lying. The American Dream—he’s just exposing the ugly truth. In America, only the moguls get to dream. Everyone else? Forget it. That party at Mar-a-Lago? Luxury everywhere, feathered hairpieces sparkling, and champagne flooding the room. Dancers in flapper dresses swirling through the crowd, acrobats splashing inside giant golden martini glasses. It's pure Gatsby—vintage 1920s glitz.
Haruki Murakami, the famed writer did the Japanese version of “The Great Gatsby”, nailed it: 1920s was America’s “Jazz Age”. It was Fitzgerald’s playground, his prime. The book and a string of ten iconic short stories put him in the American classics club. Missed the Mar-a-Lago bash? Catch Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby flick of 2013 and get swept up in that old-school dream.
The point is, Fitzgerald’s classic dropped in 1925. Back then, nobody saw the storm brewing, but the bubbles were stacking up beneath the surface, waiting to explode.
The Great Depression and the New Deal
“From 1929 to 1933, America took a nosedive. Factory output tanked by a third. Prices dropped twenty percent, and debt got even harder to pay off. Unemployment spiked from 4% to a whopping 25%. One-third of workers got shoved into low-wage, temp jobs. By the end, half the country was sitting idle.” Wikipedia spells it out. Sound familiar?
However, Fitzgerald was never there to see the brutality of life himself. After 1930, his writing days faded fast, and he died at the age of 44. “The great American writer” spent his final stretch trapped by booze, anxiety, and heartbreak.
But oh did God bless the United States. Roosevelt steps in during ’32, rolls out the “New Deal” a year later. Let’s call it what it is—Roosevelt gave the USA its first taste of socialism. If you think about it, Deng Xiaoping wasn’t the pioneer of mixing systems after all.
The New Deal rewires finance to block another meltdown like the Great Depression. Social Security comes online, labor standards get locked in, minimum wage, max hours. The SEC and FDIC show up to police Wall Street and protect bank deposits. America goes full “big government,” especially in the economy. Then war breaks out, and the New Deal taps out. That’s when American capitalism catches its second wind.
America and the never-ending War
Eisenhower holds the White House for eight years. Before leaving in ’61, he warns: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience… In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” But look what happened next?
According to Xinhua, between WWII’s end and 2001, there were 248 armed conflicts in 153 regions worldwide. America started 201 of them. Since 2000, the US has unleashed its military everywhere—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria—selling the world “freedom, democracy, and human rights.” The result? The American war machine sets countries aflame, leaving over 900,000 dead, millions wounded, tens of millions running for their lives.
“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.” That’s rich—while moguls and celebrities toast behind the velvet ropes of Mar-a-Lago, the rest choke on the fumes of old mistakes. Eisenhower warned about the war machine, but America’s elite ignored the alarm.
So here we are: the evil mist rolls in again, thick with class arrogance and broken dreams. The champions of decadence pick Halloween for their masquerade, parading shamelessly through the wreckage—then call it destiny.
Deep Blue
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
The latest reasonable estimate for Taiwan’s peaceful reunification is 2026, arriving earlier than the United States’ forecast. At yesterday’s regular press conference, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council spokesperson stated clearly, “After reunification, the mainland’s strong infrastructure construction capabilities will provide powerful support for upgrading and renewing Taiwan’s infrastructure.”
This hope appears driven by the Taiwanese public’s desire to return as soon as possible.
Recently, a Taiwanese delegation toured the Xiamen section of the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge and the construction site of Xiamen Xiang'an Airport. They marveled at the rapid progress on both projects and were deeply impressed by the mainland’s infrastructure strengths. Last October, the mainland proposed that after reunification, Taiwan would see “seven improvements,” including "better infrastructure construction after peaceful reunification.”
Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian gave an example: after peaceful reunification, “we can jointly build the long-studied Cross-Strait Expressway, turning what was once a natural barrier into a passage. At that time, Taiwanese people could leave the island and drive along the Beijing-Taiwan Expressway all the way to Beijing for sightseeing.” With Taiwan’s current economic situation, getting a high-speed rail circle around the island done ASAP would be just an “empty promise” tossed around during Taiwan elections.
To recap, the other elements of the “seven improvements” include: 1. Better economic development, sharing opportunities under One China; 2. Saying no to military confrontation, leading to stability and prosperity; 3. No longer buying “secondhand military equipment” or paying the “intelligence tax” of arms sales; 4. Greater unity between compatriots on both sides to better support Chinese rejuvenation; 5. Taiwan expanding its international space and enjoying rights; 6. Better livelihoods, with guaranteed social security and healthcare.
However, the Green Camp was unsettled. Some media voiced opposing views, with arguments that were weak yet somewhat sympathetic. For example, some claimed, "China continuously applies verbal and military intimidation against Taiwan, holding frequent large-scale military exercises last year, with PLA aircraft and naval vessels repeatedly harassing Taiwan." The blunt conclusion: many Taiwanese people therefore do not appreciate China’s so-called 'Seven Improvements.' Quite a statement!
Reality check: the rapid turn of public opinion in Taiwan toward peaceful unification is indeed driven by this 'verbal and military intimidation.' Note, this stems from the United States’ illegal attack on Iran and the resulting conflict spilling over into the Gulf region.
Trump tried to escape a prolonged quagmire by escalating the crisis but failed, leading to multiple daily rounds of various "verbal and military intimidation" worldwide.
One notable figure here is John Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago professor who originally argued that after the Soviet Union’s collapse, the US should focus entirely on confronting China’s "rise." Recently, watching Iran’s strategic success in containing the US and Israel and becoming the dominant force on the battlefield, he warned that the US risked being dragged deeper and deeper into defeat,.
This is not alarmism but the inevitability of US decline. Need more evidence? In the 1990s, Brzezinski proposed Eurasia as the grand chessboard for global dominance; the US must never lose its grip and must prevent China, Russia, and Iran from uniting in a contiguous alliance. Brzezinski worried about Iran’s ambition—the revival of Islam.
At the time, this was considered alarmist, as the US was at its peak, and even fiction couldn’t imagine a China-Russia-Iran alliance. Yet now Trump, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has realized this “impossible mission.”
The failed US offensive against Iran combined with its growing impotence has shattered the US military myth. Taiwan cannot afford to sink along with that force. Everyone across the Taiwan Strait would sing the song "Tomorrow Will Be Better" in one voice. But some might say China faces an even more fearsome rival emerging in the region.
Who? One with rare earth elements enough for 700 years, mid-range missiles covering both sides of the Strait, and a 600-year record as a victorious 'Eastern Great Power.' It deserves everyone’s attention. I say, which national leader can overturn the White House? Only that 'Eastern Great Power' can.
