The point about being a peasant, is that the peasant knows there are forces far greater than the simple peasant, and if a peasant wants to survive, he better know what those larger forces of the world are like.

A peasant, is just a simple peasant. But there is the opening. The simple peasant always has to deal with the petty official, the danm bureaucrat who wants to tax our peasant asses.

China, is acting like the past, that the Emperor is ruling under heaven. This is straight out of the 24 historical dynastic records. A peasant sees what China is doing today, and he or she knows, something grand is happening, is scale and in scope, that will move heaven and earth.

The United States, on the other hand, according the peasant brain, is being run by Tsai Ing-wen. All Tsai Ing-wen really is, that is a petty official. Nothing grand there. There is no Lee Kwan Yiu here to lead Taiwan into the promised land. Imagine Tsai Ing-wen leading Singapore back then when they got kicked out of Malaysia. That is going no where.

But this is today, and today politics in democratic societies, Tsai Ing-wen has to rule bureaucratically. Do not offend anyone, make no one has to sacrifice, check off all the boxes, and cover your ass. There probably more to this type of Liberal ideology, but we get the picture. This is not leadership, this is just a petty official doing her job.

Now with the United States, there is a real question who the runs the place. Under President Trump, it was all President Trump. The Biden Administration, Biden is suffering, so it could be some petty official like Kumbaya Harris running the place. She just like Tsai Ing-wen, do the right thing keep up appearances, do not offend anyone, check off all the right boxes.

There is no grand plan, no great ideals, just some petty official in the United States, trying to play in the big leagues.

They try to score points, such as try to score cheap political points, but they get nowhere. Spending all their time trying to score cheap political points on the world stage, when the strategic ground is shifting, is something a petty official would do. They do not know any better.

Look at what just happened, Iran announces the China deal, then China invites the Palestinians and Israel for peace talks. China is make a move to remake the Middle East, hopefully for the better. All America does is shout 'genocide' at the top of it lungs. Without providing proof. Without mentioning not a single Muslim country buys what they are selling. One side of the table is playing strategy and traditional statecraft at a high level, the other side of the table is trying to score cheap political points.

China has a strong hand, and plays it correctly and with style. America had a strong hand, under President Trump maybe a couple of mistakes were made, but under Biden, no style, only petty bureaucracy. What is a bureaucrat? Everything must be done their way. That is the United States right now, they insist everything done their way, but without provide any incentives for others to do so, and without any plan to convince others to do so.

In short, the peasant obviously sees that with China and America, currently is it all about leadership.

But the peasant gets around, and he recognizes that one side acts like that petty official the peasant always has to deal with. The peasant knows that that petty official, they are so stupid right? Nothing ever gets done with them. They got to fill out their danm forms, check all the boxes, and cover their ass. That is why the petty officials, they seem to be out of their league.

To play the game at this level, you got to play it right, you got to make few mistakes, you got to be bold, you got to be able to make the right moves.

The petty official, he or she does not know how to do that. The petty official would know only what a petty official can do. The most important trait of the petty official, cover my ass.

Check out the pandemic, and the western politicians generally do not take a strong stance, because the people will go after their ass.