‘AMERICA FIRST’ DOES NOT MEAN ‘AMERICANS FIRST’
tire should have been replaced years ago. Why was it not? Fair trade. That is, Argentina was supposedly protecting its young tire industry from foreign competition. Who owned the Argentine tire maker? It turned out that the major owner was the family of the president herself, Cristina Kirchner. So when Donald Trump says “Buy American... make it in America... with American workers... “ I become suspicious. There’s no way you can benefit all the people of the country with fair trade. You will only benefit some, at others’ expense. Who will you benefit? Those who control the system, of course. The Idea of America “America First,” says Donald Trump. Again, it sounds like a good campaign slogan. But when you deconstruct it... what do you find? The same cast of characters... the same plot... and the same Deep State again. It’s not “Americans First.” That would be a whole different thing. It would mean that we could decide for ourselves which deal was best for us. “America First” is a slogan that glorifies and elevates the government, while diminishing the power and freedom of the people in the country. This is a big departure for America. We’re not like the French or the Spanish... we don’t share a single culture... or even a single language... or a real national identity. We’re a nation of immigrants. The idea – which I explored in my book The
Idea of America – was that we could each worship our own God... follow our own goals, free from the dictates of the federal government. The government was supposed to protect us. And the Constitution was supposed to protect us from the government, making it possible for us to find life, liberty, and happiness in our own way. Grosso modo , the idea of a national purpose above and beyond the interests of the citizens themselves... or an economy that is supposed to serve the nation rather than the individual people who make up the nation... is as old as the Old Testament. In it, the Jews are described as a nation of people working out their relationship with God. America is a different thing. You don’t have to be a Jew or a Persian... or a gentile... You don’t have to speak Aramaic or Hebrew. America is a product of the New Testament, where each individual can work out his own relationship with God. We’re not a nation in the traditional sense. We’re a nation of different peoples... different groups. We were meant to be treated as individuals... not as part of a big collective... We were never meant to be ein Volk , but lots of volks.
Bill Bonner is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of The Agora publishing company. He publishes a free daily letter, Bill Bonner's Diary, here: https://bonnerandpartners.com.
78 | July 2017
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