Susan Wright on the Right
Well, it’s not as if the terminology hasn’t been tossed out there, time and again, about President Donald Trump.
Nationalist.
The difference now is that the gilded toad stood before one of his adoring crowds in Houston, Texas, as part of a rally to support Senator Ted Cruz’s reelection bid, and openly declared himself to be what has long been claimed.
He’s not a Republican, or a conservative, so please, let’s not waste any more time comparing him to Ronald Reagan. Those two are miles apart, in both understanding and implementation of policy, as well as human dignity as could ever be imagined.
As the lunatic fringe clung to his every word, Trump made his announcement:
“A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly not caring about the country so much. You know, we can’t have that,” Trump said, prompting boos from the crowd.
“You know what I am, I’m a nationalist,” he added, as the crowd erupted in “USA! USA!” chants. “Use that word.”
No. Seriously. Don’t use that word.
To begin with, his definition of “globalist” was a bit off.
Yes, globalism encompasses the world as an economic and political field to work within. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. We’re not living in a vacuum, and ever since World War I and II, there has been a particular need to stay connected to the world outside of our borders.
We are safer and more prosperous when we work with others.
Many of Trump’s barking mad sycophants have been falsely led to believe it means “to the exclusion of the United States’ best interests.”
It doesn’t mean that at all, and in fact, if we are a truly capitalist society, then we embrace economic friendships outside of the United States.
A strong nation doesn’t fear the world outside.
I don’t expect any of this to sink in with the typical Branch Trumpidian cult member. They don’t see the ugly glow of history under the surface of Trump’s rhetoric, or their mindless following.
So what is the history of Nationalism? This is not a new thing, devised in Donald Trump’s best, good brain. We’ve heard the term, seen the results in other regimes throughout the world and over time.
Some other Nationalist leaders you may have heard of include: Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Kim Il-sung (North Korea), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Slobodan Milošević (Serbia), Fidel Castro (Cuba), and at the risk of violating Godwin’s law – Adolf Hitler (Germany).
Of course, if you want fresher, more contemporary examples, there’s Vladimir Putin (Russia), Xi Jinping (China), Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines) or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Arabia) to hold in consideration.
Are these the good guys?
Don’t even puzzle over that one. They are not.
Just as it has been with every bad actor to rise, these are rulers who lead by fear or by force. They demonize “other” as a way of excusing away shortcomings in their own governance.
Nationalism is fascism wrapped in the flag and falsely called “patriotism.”
The problem, however, is not in those leaders who embrace Nationalism. The problem is in an uninformed, hateful, hopeless populace that embraces those leaders, blindly handing over control, without question.
Definitely not a cult or anything.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 22, 2018
“It doesn’t matter what he says. We’ll support it.”
We have long been the nation that defended the world – thereby protecting our own way of life – against the corrosive tide of fascism.
Trumpism is something this nation has never had to tackle on its own shores, but now the mask is off.
And how do we combat this, when so many willingly, gladly proclaim that they will follow Trump’s lead, believe anything he says, no matter how ludicrous or demonstrably false?
In time, this will all come to a head. I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it, yet.
At least we know what we’re fighting against.
We’ve seen it before.
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