Another July 4th has come and gone. Each year it feels phonier does it not? Somewhere in the timeline the social cohesion of a patriotic fourth died. It might have been the ’90s when patriotism was kitschy enough to be mocked by the proper thinking crowd. Not just the elite left leaning types but your everyday liberal. Maybe it was after 9/11 forced us to feel united for a brief moment but then that united, and angry, feeling was exploited for neocon wars. A united vision of America is gone.
If you doubt it, ask yourself what the conception of America was for participants and viewers of the recent Democratic debates. Do you share a view of America or goals in common with them? The beliefs and assumptions held by both sides are so divergent that it is two nations. This is not quite new and has been a common theme on both sides. Former governor Mario Cuomo gave a great speech at the ’84 DNC about the two Americas, and how Reagan’s recovery had not lifted both. Former Senator Edwards struck a similar two Americas tone in ’04 on the campaign trail. Same with Bob Dole in ’96, and famously, Pat Buchanan in ’92 openly discussed the cultural split and war.
Those were focused on economics as the people left behind were of one America. Now the split is far greater, down to the very core of what does it mean to be American. One has no definition as any human on earth is an American, and they are even more American than you. Another has a definition of a believer in the ideals of America, whatever that means, because they are afraid to embrace the base’s idea of blood and soil. Either way you cut it, there are two conceptions of America.
Even within that left wing space, there are multiple Americas. While the party is based in the cities, do you believe the left has a unified concept of what America means to them. Almost all hate America and heritage America. Black America as an ideal is what hating America a lot but never leaving, or maybe being considered accepted and validated in the white world? If we are to believe the left’s hysteria this week, American history before the end of slavery is not allowed? Hispanic America is varied itself but antagonistic. The true ideological believers can twist America as the open minded, free for all that happens to now include sexual deviancy and third worlders, and very gullible left wing whites of Minnesota and such states can think of the positives of American openness because they are so far from the effects of their desired policies.
This is the crux of the problem as we cannot even agree on what America is. There is no unity. This is why retrenching into tribal identities is happening. Same thing is stirring with regional identities. I will take a stab at what America is right now. America is a capital rich business in a city that the parasites of all stripes in town want to leech off of while the credit is still good. On to the links…
The China Experts Are the Walking Dead – A new batch of experts are quickly being exposed as morons. America’s foreign policy establishment will not even allow introspection to wonder why America made so many decisions between ’93 and ’03 that put China in such a prime position.
Sen. Hawley Knows – Senator Hawley once again is writing essays that sound a lot more in line with Tucker Carlson and the right wing base than anyone else. He is saying all of the right things. Watch for him as the ’20s develop.
Putin definitely knows – One thing that is amazing is that even in ’14, all Russian political leaders left and right knew America was undermining Russia to take it over. They all got it. This is the transcript of Putin’s recent interview where he drops lines that are spot on, and would not be said here in America.
Matt Stoller on MIC Monopolies – Matt Stoller has some blind spots but this thread is worth a read. Our Military Industrial Complex is a beast that cannot be tamed. Just how bad is it? Check the graph on corporate consolidation that has us at the point where we do not have the industry to even replace our equipment.
Immigrants Fuel Rent Problems – Beautiful to see a California newspaper admit that immigration is ruining any chance at reasonable rent.