rant · moment 10 of 23

America Always Needs an Enemy

from Knuckleheads & Dodo Birds | The Tim Dillon Show #366 · #366

3 min

Tim argues the post-9/11 us-vs-evil messaging keeps rotating targets from Russia to China to North Korea, and explains how the US armed groups like ISIS against Syria and Libya only to fight them later.

In this bit5 moments
  • Tim argues the messaging around current enemies follows post-9/11 framing of "us against evil," citing the rotating cast of designated adversaries from Russia to China.
  • America focus-groups enemies to see which ones work, with Syria never catching on as a viable threat.
  • Tim describes the contradiction of simultaneously arming ISIS to fight Russia and Assad while later claiming to crack down on terrorism.
  • He compares U.S. foreign policy to a drunk man in a bar who tells one guy that another guy is talking shit about him, then fades back—creating unnecessary conflict.
  • Tim pivots to good news: Argentina court acquits deaf children in a sex abuse case.
Mentioned here

Bill HicksRussiaChinaISISAssad familyNorth KoreaSyriaLibya

All 23 moments in this episode →