Dan Reinhard

Minot

Most people probably laughed throughout the Mel Brooks directed movie “Young Frankenstein” without giving much thought of the consequences of hidden messages below the surface in the possible outcome of creating of a monster.

Nor did Secretary of State Henry Kissinger when he secretly entered the People’s Republic of China in 1971 or after the official visit by President Richard Nixon in 1972. The thinking was a free China will be a safe country for world affairs.

I’ve heard many voices crying out about the hazards of the proposed tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and more recently, many other products produced in China. I know well that the tariffs will cause price increases on most products. I understand that possible trade wars might follow this risky move. But tell me how do we control the monster we created? Do we all gather ’round with rakes, shovels and clubs to attack the monster? China has been doing a great deal more than dumping cheap products on the marketplace. They have been attempting for years, to replace the dollar as the world’s trading standard with the yen. By forcing all American bedrock industries out of business, they will be the single supplier. And they will determine the price we will all pay for all manufactured products – which is the result of an unchecked global economy.

We have, through trillions of dollars, enriched China to the point where America will no longer be the greatest world power. We are on the same path that older great nations like Spain, France and England travelled down. Great empires, from Greece to Rome and many more have also fallen to nonexistence for similar reasons. Are we destined for the same?

Not long ago, when California was more concerned with legalizing marijuana or promoting Sanctuary Cities, a critical resource company called Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mining went bankrupt. Not far from San Bernardino, it was the only American rare earth metal supplier in our country. China flooded the market with rare earth metals which forced the company out of business. So what, you might say? Rare earth metals are critical for all military warfighting hardware, all computer hardware and all other electronics industries. China is now the world’s largest supplier. How long it is before they crush the remaining world suppliers is anyone’s guess. And we are worried about tariffs? I would like to own an IPhone but when I realized that the majority of them are assembled in China, I chose instead an Android.

How China propelled itself from the 19th century existence to where they now reside, within forty years, is an historic marvel. But, another day with total focus and concern about Iran, Russia or North Korea as our only adversaries, is a fool’s mistake. China has been stealing our intellectual property for many years and what was not stolen, our industries most likely gave them total access to. China’s air force, navy and army will soon surpass America’s. And earlier this year, President Xi was voted lifelong ruler. Shouldn’t his proper title be Chairman?

I’ve recently heard a presidential candidate say that China is not our enemy, only a fierce competitor. You do not have to be a geopolitical scholar to understand what China has been planning. My advice, learn to speak Chinese fluently if you believe they are your friendly competitor, so when they say jump you’ll understand the language and all that lies in store for every American.