OPINION: Time to move from 'America in charge' mentality

"THE world needs to start thinking about what they are going to do now that really famous guy who used to yell "YOU'RE FIRED” is the leader of the US."

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I COULD sit at my desk and write this piece about how afraid I am for the world now that Donald Trump is in charge of theoretically the biggest military power in the world. Or, at least, he will be.

Will he have a trigger finger? Will they actually give him the codes?

Will he make it mandatory for everyone to be cheeto-coloured?

But I actually see this as an opportunity for the rest of the world to stop relying on "the world's last superpower".

If Trump goes mental on the world stage and declares war on the (insert religion, race or country here), at least we no longer have to feel bad about adhering to the rules of ANZUS and follow the US blindly into the next battle.

We can sit back and say: "Well, at least he's digging his own grave."

And maybe this will be an opportunity to strengthen our ties with our neighbours, to consider more trade agreements within the Asia-Pacific.

Australia has been moving towards more Asian-central trade partnerships for a long time; maybe this is the opportunity to focus on that.

The world needs to start thinking about what they are going to do now that really famous guy who used to yell "YOU'RE FIRED" is the leader of the US.

How can we become better countries because of this election?

How can we move away from the "AMERICA IS IN CHARGE" mentality and head towards something more cohesive for everyone.

Here is a thought; the answer won't involve Trump.

Originally published as OPINION: Time to move from 'America in charge' mentality