There
came a time when most thinkers in America could no longer define American
Exceptionalism as the movement to take in immigrants and let them flourish to
their full potential, thus benefit all citizens while benefiting themselves. It
is that the thinkers were beginning to see that things had changed so much in
America, the definition was becoming obsolete, and had to be amended to comply
with the new realities.
The
thinkers were now seeing an America that was changing for the worse in a world
that was changing for the better. Whereas the world, that was rife with local
wars and abject poverty, was becoming more peaceful and more prosperous,
America was seeing its moral compass so deteriorate, its native-born children
could not learn anymore, and its business leaders preferred to invest their
money abroad.
And
so, American exceptionalism had to be redefined as (1) the movement of
taking-in unskilled transient laborers who work, save a few dollars and return
to the places from where they came, and (2) the exodus of the manufacturing and
knowledge-based businesses to countries that promise a brighter future.
No
longer operating at full potential, America could not maintain its middle class
at the level that it used to enjoy. Discontent began to intensify throughout
the land, resulting in the election of Donald J. Trump who promised to restore
to America its former greatness. To that end, he took steps to keep out the
cheap transient workforce that used to give much to America while getting back
very little. He also took steps to bring back knowledge-based businesses as
well as manufacturing but failed big time. And he took one more crucial step
that will be viewed as his undoing by future historians.
Eager
to duplicate the economic success of Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump added billions
of dollars to the national debt. He gave most of the borrowed money, not to the
middle and lower classes that would have spent it on local products and services,
but to the upper class that was investing abroad and eager to fatten its
foreign investment portfolio with a windfall of new cash. It must be
acknowledged, however, that some of the money was spent locally, boosting the
economy temporarily. This gave Trump the opportunity to claim that he
duplicated the Reagan economy like he promised he would.
But
there was another side to the Reagan economy that nobody dared mention. Well,
to be accurate, it must be said that one person mentioned it in passing. He was
Daniel Patrick Moynihan who said this: “We borrowed a trillion dollars from the
Japanese and a had a party.” The consequence of that policy showed up a few
years later when the country went into a recession, causing Reagan's successor
(George Bush 41) to lose his re-election bid.
Now,
the promise under Donald Trump, is that the deficit will reach a trillion
dollars not once, but year after year after year, as far as the eye can see. It
makes the Reagan-Bush era look like a model of fiscal restraint. But does Trump
care about the long term damage he is inflicting on the economy? No, he
doesn't. He doesn't because when it comes to character, he is the opposite of
Ronald Reagan.
The
truth is that Reagan was a true patriot. His desire was to make America the
best that it can be. Donald Trump, on the other hand, is such a selfish
individual, he refuses to face the fact that every move he makes turns into an
act of treason. He disguised himself as a patriot, however, because he
discovered that it was a good way to sell America and pocket the benefits
without anyone realizing what he was doing.
And
this is what he's doing: Keenly aware that he will have a hard time making the
big bucks he dreams of, hustling Americans after he leaves office, he is
cultivating close relationships with foreign leaders he believes will still be
in office when he'll be out of office in 2020 or 2024. Some people call these
leaders dictators, but he sees them as men he ought to love and be loved by.
That's because he foresees he'll have “phenomenal” opportunities to do business
with them, helping them develop their countries. He dreams of becoming very
wealthy in the process, if not the richest man ever.
And
so, sitting at the helm of an America that has much to offer to foreign
leaders, Donald Trump gives the foreigners what they ask for no matter how much
it costs America financially, diplomatically and in terms of national security.
He is doing it, anticipating that he'll personally cash in phenomenally in the
future –– and perhaps become the first trillionaire in history.
But
sooner or later, the Trump bubble will burst. And all the promises that he made
to his followers will blow away like thin smoke in heavy wind. And those who
loved him intensely for what he promised, will hate him just as intensely when
he fails to deliver.
Because
the circumstances in America of the twenty first century are different from
what they were in twentieth century Europe, Donald Trump will only be
humiliated.