The World’s Biggest Banana Republic
By John Perkins
I encourage you to share this important and timely message from people around the world.
“The world’s biggest banana republic” is a phrase I hear from people in Latin American and other countries that describes the current United States. It saddens and angers me that my country is seen this way and is jeopardizing its role as a world leader. I’ve always remained apolitical in my writings. I’ve never supported or vilified any candidate. But now, I believe it is important to share what I’m hearing from friends and readers of my books on every continent.
They are shocked by recent events in the US. They tell me that for the first time in history we have a president who is collaborating with a country that invaded an ally. They tell me they are stunned that our president is supporting Putin’s threats to restore the Soviet Union and, in the process, encouraging a growing alliance between China and Russia (and possibly Iran and North Korea). They see a President turning our staunchest allies against us and praising brutal dictators like Russia’s Putin and Hungary’s Orban. They are stunned that a president of the US kowtows to oligarchs and allows himself to be controlled by, in the words of several, ‘a Goldfinger-type figure’—the richest man in the world. Outraged, they describe watching an American president and vice president cowardly ganging up to bully the leader of a country that is a bulwark against Russian aggression. They tell me they are discouraged by the example of a president who attacks freedom of the press by kicking reporters from legitimate media out of press conferences. They are dismayed that our president has fired and politicized prosecuting attorneys, high-level officials, and experts in judicial, defense/military, medical, and law-enforcement fields, individuals essential to protecting our nation. They tell me they hate watching the humiliation of a country that has been hailed as a hero since World War II—one that, despite the flaws I’ve often discussed, has served as a voice for social justice and democracy.
They tell me that, around the world, people see these actions not as those of a democracy, but of a banana republic ruled by a dictator.
These conversations remind me of why I write and why I believe stories matter. In my upcoming book, Message from Pleiades, I explore these themes: prophecies, our relationship to our planet, the wisdom we’ve lost along the way, voices that guide us, and how to move forward. It’s the best book I’ve written—and as a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll soon receive chapter 1 completely free.
I hope you’ll join me in thinking deeply about where we are and where we’re headed—because the stories we tell shape the future we create.