Has America Crossed the Asshole Threshold?
The article argues American society has crossed an "asshole threshold," where rudeness, selfishness, and antisocial behavior are normalized. This decline is linked to eroded civic norms, social trust, and community bonds, fueled by political polarization and digital culture.
Background
- The "asshole threshold" is a concept popularized by the political blog Lawyers, Guns & Money, referring to the point at which a country's behavior becomes so morally repugnant that it forfeits its right to be treated as a normal member of the international community. Crossing it typically triggers diplomatic isolation, sanctions, and loss of soft power.
- The article applies this lens to the Trump administration's foreign policy — specifically its treatment of allies, its posture toward authoritarian regimes, and its withdrawal from multilateral agreements. The question is whether the US has crossed a line that changes how other nations (and its own citizens) view its legitimacy.
- The term deliberately echoes colloquial language (the "asshole" in a friend group who keeps violating norms) to frame a geopolitical argument: that a superpower can become a pariah not through weakness, but through behavior that others refuse to tolerate.