This Is Who We Are

 

Many of my friends have said the Trump view of the world ‘isn’t who we are as Americans.’  I beg to differ.

This election has proven that this is who we are.  If not, he would have been soundly repudiated.  We seem to have become exactly what he stands for, speaks to and represents.

But he didn’t invent it.  America First (besides being a semi-fascist slogan from the WWII era) wasn’t invented by Donald Trump.  It was invented by the way we, as a people, approach the world.  And in fact, it is the way the world approaches the world.  It is characterized by, what David Brooks calls, hyper-individualism.  Me, mine, more…to me this is ultra-individualism.

We can blame Trump for four years of lies and division.  Only he is responsible for that.  But we can’t blame him for the fact that our culture and our economy only seem to succeed when we are divided and when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  And, when the common ethic is individual rights are more important than the rights of us all. 

What better example of that from Trump that he made wearing a mask into an individual rights question.  He said, simply, ‘you have no right to make me wear a mask and I have the right to kill you by spreading the virus as a result.  Because I have my rights.’

And when we look at economic rights our economy is only considered in good shape when people have money to buy stuff.  Have you noticed that our economy is only sound when it grows?  The only way our economy is considered strong is when the stock market is up (rich get richer) and we go out to the mall or Amazon and buy stuff.  Nobody asks what might be good for everybody.  The only question is what is good for the stock market.  Donald Trump didn’t invent that either.

Just before the election in poll after poll, when people were asked what was the number one issue, they didn’t pick the virus that has killed almost 250,000 Americans and millions world-wide.  They picked the economy.  Money was the number one issue as people die all around us.

Ultra-individualism has become the norm. That is why a Trump can actually become President.  Not because he is the best person for the job.  But because he taps into our need to care more about our individual rights than we do for the rights of all of us.

It doesn’t have to stay that way, but it will take a gigantic switch in American and world consciousness from ‘me to we’ to change the way we live; a switch from ultra-individualism to what Brooks calls relationism.  From all I care about is me to I care about you too…

When we were thrust into WWII (the same WWII where America First was born) the entire country and free world got behind defeating an enemy by coming together and changing our focus to what’s best for all, not just what’s best for me.  Can we do it again?

I refuse to be pessimistic.  I think we can do this.  But it will take us all having the will to ask 'is this good for others?' while considering what is good for us.  We've done it before.