There are moments when political speeches stop sounding like “politics” and start sounding like common sense. At the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, French President Emmanuel Macron shared a vision that felt less like a lecture and more like a shared experience. He stripped away the jargon to address a core truth: whether you’re a world leader or just a person trying to get through the day, the choice between respect and bullying defines everything.
His words were simple and direct:
“We do prefer respect to bullies.”
“We do prefer science to conspiracies.”
“And we do prefer the rule of law to brutality.”
Macron warned against “a shift towards a world without rules,” where the strong impose their will while weaker partners suffer – reinforcing that respect and law, not force, should guide global relations.
It’s hard to argue with any of that. Me We Too.
Not a Slogan – A Response
That line – respect over bullies – wasn’t a slogan. It was a response to real tension. It was standing up to a bully.
Macron was responding to more than just U.S. President Trump threatening heavy tariffs if Denmark or NATO doesn’t give the United States control of Greenland, a plan Europe opposes. He was also addressing Trump’s earlier comments that the U.S. would take the territory “the easy way or the hard way,” raising alarms across Europe.
Go along to get along?
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney didn’t come to Davos to play nice. In a speech that many are calling the “Carney Doctrine,” he dismantled the idea that we can simply wait for the world to return to “normal.”
“The old order is not coming back,” Carney warned. “Nostalgia is not a strategy.”
He argued that we are no longer in a slow shift, but a total break from the past. For decades, middle powers like Canada played along with the “pleasant fiction” of a rules-based order, even as it began to fail. Carney called for an end to this performance, famously stating:
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”
He hit back at the “gangster” logic of great power intimidation, warning that staying quiet to avoid trouble – what he called the “Greengrocer’s Dilemma” – is a dead end.
“Faced with this logic, there is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along – to accommodate, to avoid trouble, to hope that compliance will buy safety. Well, it won’t.”
The Menu vs. The Table Carney’s solution? Don’t stand alone. He urged middle powers to build a “dense web of connections” that creates a third path between competing hegemons.
“Middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
He called out the “weaponization” of the global economy – using tariffs as leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities – concluding that real sovereignty isn’t found in accommodating a bully, but in the ability to withstand pressure alongside friends who have your back.
Walking it back
Even bullies know when they’ve overplayed their hand. In Davos, Trump later walked that back, saying he wouldn’t use military force and adding that European allies could “say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember.” It’s also worth noting that decisions of this scale aren’t unilateral – under U.S. law, they require congressional approval.
A Masterclass in Distraction?
While the world watches the “Greenland Drama” in Davos, some are asking if the whole spectacle is just a smoke screen. As MS Now’s Lawrence O’Donnell has been shouting from the rooftops on The Last Word, this isn’t just about territory – it’s about changing the subject.
The louder the talk about Greenland, the less we talk about the crises happening right now:
- The Minnesota Ice Raids: While leaders talk diplomacy in Switzerland, “Operation Metro Surge” is tearing through Minnesota. These military-style raids have terrorized communities, including reports of a U.S. citizen being shot and killed by an ICE agent and elders being dragged from their homes in sub-zero weather.
- The Healthcare Collapse: On January 1, the ACA subsidies officially expired, sending premiums skyrocketing by over 100% for millions of families. After a decade of promising a better way, we are left with nothing but “concepts of a plan” that never became real.
- The Epstein Files: Despite his public promises to release the files during the presidential election, they remain locked away, even as a Republican-led House panel moves to hold the Clintons in contempt.
Market Whiplash
The “bully tactic” has real-world consequences. Markets took a massive hit yesterday as the S&P 500 slid to a three-week low on the news of Greenland tariffs. Today, stocks are bouncing back as the “concepts of a deal” are announced. It’s a cycle of manufactured chaos: create a crisis, watch the market dip, announce a “concept,” and claim victory as it recovers.
Concepts of a Greenland Deal
History is repeating itself at Davos. Just like his healthcare promises, Trump is now claiming he has a “framework” or “concepts of a deal” for Greenland to avoid the very tariffs he threatened.
In the end, a bully’s loudest shout is often an attempt to drown out the sound of the things they aren’t fixing at home.
America First – or America Alone?
President Trump built much of his political brand around the slogan “America First”, signaling that U.S. interests come first in trade, security, and diplomacy. But many allies are seeing America alone instead – a country that pushes its way, pressures partners, and punishes those who disagree. Macron and Carney’s speeches underline this shift: when the “big kid” tries to get their way through intimidation rather than respect, trust erodes.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
It’s a dynamic we can all recognize: the loudest, strongest kid doesn’t earn loyalty or cooperation. Respect does – whether it’s on the playground, at work, or on the world stage.
Most of us learned this early on. Stand up to the kid taking your lunch. Don’t let someone push you into a locker – literal or metaphorical. And if you can, don’t stand alone.
There’s a reason MLK Jr. said the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, and why Aretha Franklin demanded we find out what R-E-S-P-E-C-T means. They knew the same truth Macron and Carney are betting on today: Respect isn’t just a “nice” idea – it’s the only thing that actually sustains a world worth living in.
What about you?
We’ve all faced a “big kid” moment – whether it was a boss, a peer, or a literal bully. How did you stand your ground? Did you find strength in friends, or did you have to find it in yourself?
Post your mini poll on Me We Too. Let’s turn “Me” into “We.” 🤝
(And hey, it’s not just humans… as this Me We Too post says, “My pet is a bully”.)
Respect over bullies. Always. Because respect isn’t just for leaders – it’s for all of us.
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