credible commitments.

It's strange how things line up sometimes: it's almost always a coincidence, or at least I would like to think so. I sat in class this morning and listened to a guest speaker talk about an article that he wrote. Needless to say, little man...big ego. I sat there, half-interested in what he had to say about how judiciary powers were drawn out during the drafting of the Constitution, and then he caught my attention with one word: Trust. You can only trust someone if they're credible. At first, we're all the same, we're all equals...we're all peers. But one act, one revolution changes things: it changes the relationship.

"America had thrown itself into a position against the entire world, and it was now asking to be let back in as a different man, and it knew that in this situation, it would have to gain the world's trust. And when you want to gain someone's trust after creating an uproar, you give them one and then some. If you're the world, never settle for less."

I'm thinking, you've created an uproar, and I don't know if I can trust you. I want to let you back into the game; so that we can both benefit from the exchange--so that we can prosper together... but if I give you this one, you're going to have to give me one in return--and then some. That's how this exchange is going to work right now, until I can trust you.

And if you don't like that, then you can go trade with another country.

Because all that I'm really looking for is a credible commitment.