Is Nationalism Treason?

            In a November 11^th speech at the Armistice Day centennial observance in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron fired a blast at President Trump by declaring that “Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism…Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is treason.”  President Trump, an avowed nationalist, took it as an insult, and rightly so.

            Macron surely knows the history of nationalism in Europe. But was he justified in linking the German nationalism that gave rise to Hitler with Trump’s “America First” policy? Then he compounded the insult by proposing that Europe unite to form its own armed forces in opposition to Russia, China, and yes, the United States, leaving no doubt in anybody’s mind that he now views America as a foe. Considering that Trump is in the midst of trade negotiations with Europe and is also looking to Europe to bear a larger share of NATO’s costs, Macron’s speech was extraordinarily rash and provocative. President Trump retaliated with harsh words of his own, reminding President Macron that the United States had saved France’s butt in two world wars. Meanwhile, many Western European countries, echoing Mr. Macron’s obstreperousness, are refusing to go along with U.S. sanctions against Iran.

            I can’t help thinking of a similar struggle between American Catholic bishops and the Vatican. The bishops met earlier this month in Baltimore at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to deal with the church’s sexual abuse crisis. They were prepared to vote on standards for episcopal conduct and on the formation of a special commission to review complaints of violation of these standards. But the Vatican ordered the USCCB not to vote on these matters, telling the American bishops in effect that the Vatican would call the shots. Which makes me wonder about what the American bishops’ response to Rome’s authoritarianism will be. Will they conclude it is time to form an “America First” church independent of Vatican diktat? Can Rome really afford to alienate its largest national congregation and its biggest financial supporter? Could it be provoking a second Reformation? Interesting questions in a world debating the pros and cons of nationalism.

On Promises and Protests

            Hillary Clinton promised that civility would return to the political arena after Democrats regained power in Congress. Well, what happened? No sooner had Democrats learned that voters had given them control of the House of Representatives, their incoming committee chairmen Richard Neal, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, and Maxine (“Impeach-Impeach-Impeach”) Waters declared all-out war on the president, his family, his administration, even Justice Kavanaugh. So much for Hillary’s promise of restored civility.

            Meanwhile, election results did not produce a Democrat-like response from Republicans: there were no tears, no predictions of Armageddon, no vows to move to Canada, no mob protests in the streets, or banging on Supreme Court doors. Oh, but there was a banging on a door, the front door of Fox News talk-show host Tucker Carlson’s home. A masked mob outside spry-painted an anarchy symbol on his driveway and shouted, “We will fight. We know where you sleep at night. Racist scumbag leave town. We are outside your home. Mail bomb.”

            This was not a peaceful gathering of protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. It was a threat to Carlson’s life and the life of his family. It was a criminal act. Police were called to the scene, but made no arrests, although authorities promised to investigate. A promise is not enough: if the protesters are identified, they should be arrested and prosecuted for what this was, a hate crime. And the guilty should carry this black mark on their record for the rest of their lives as an example for those who would terrorize people for their political beliefs.

            To their credit, most of the left-wing Trump haters in the media voiced their support for Carlson. Trump critic Stephen Colbert called the protest right: he called it “monstrous cowardice.” I did not see any report of comments from Maxine Waters.

           

Not Buying Anymore

            Not long ago I was price-gouged by a restaurant and vowed never to return. Just the other day I was repulsed by a TV program and vowed never to watch that series again. There is a parallel, I think, between being forced to pay for over-priced food and unexpectedly finding myself watching an offensive TV show. Both deserved the response, a miniature marketplace in action.

            The TV program I’m referring to, an episode of SWAT, featured a character, a regular on the series, who openly admitted to being bi-sexual. When she confided to a co-worker that she was intensely attracted to another woman, she was told essentially to “go for it,” in other words, go ahead and satisfy your sexual urges, even if the relationship would not meet traditional norms. Now, I don’t know how or why producers of this action show felt that this would add to the enjoyment of the program, and I’m not so much of a prude that I object to portrayals of different life-styles. But then a meeting with the two women turned into something more than an expression of interest: it became an invitation by the other woman to enter into a threesome called a “thruple” involving her fiancée. The next scene showed the boyfriend making a lascivious invitation to explore the proposed arrangement’s exciting aspects. The scene ended with the young lady seriously considering it. That’s when I pushed the OFF button on the TV remote.

            As someone with a former connection to the advertising business, I ask myself why an advertiser would want to support a show that asks viewers to empathize with a character who is considering joining a “thruple;” worse, to invite viewers to vicariously weigh the pros and cons of adopting a life-style that flouts traditional morality. This, I submit, is a perfect example of corrosive Hollywood values promoted to the public in prime time.

            I am only one person, but I am saying to those responsible, producers and advertisers alike, “I am not going to buy what you’re selling anymore.”  

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

            No matter how we view the results of the mid-term elections, we have to acknowledge a definite movement to the left in the Democratic Party’s natural constituency of minorities.  This move has been fed by the left’s incessant use of identity politics to promote victimhood, academia’s preaching of the anti-capitalist gospel, and the emergence of public figures like Bernie Sanders who worship at the altar of socialism. Indeed, masses of young people are singing the praises of an ideology that in their star-gazing imagination is the ultimate cure for poverty, inequality, and infectious disease. Unfortunately, the one infection it cannot cure is ignorance.

            First, the vast majority of socialism’s infantile cheerleaders don’t even know what socialism is. In a recent Gallup survey, only 17% correctly identified socialism with government ownership or control. The other 83% associated socialism vaguely with equality, enhanced benefits, and such nonsense as being social to people.

            Second, immature swallowers of socialist pap lack the knowledge necessary to recognize the fallacies in descriptions of socialist utopias. Bernie Sanders would have them believe that socialist economies in Scandinavia, for instance, are thriving, when the truth is that Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have high tax rates to support vast social safety nets, but also have thriving market economies dependent on the private sector. Advocates of single-payer health care systems also fail to mention that countries like Great Britain and Canada that have such a system deliver far worse health care than ours.

            Finally, it is an indictment of our educational system that the majority of our young people are totally ignorant of the history of the Soviet Union and China whose authoritarian regimes put socialism and communism into practice and exterminated tens of millions of people in the 20^th century. Our blissfully unsuspecting youngsters aren’t even aware of the misery brought on right now by the same kind of authoritarian regimes in North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

            Ignorance may be bliss, but not when it comes to the truth about socialism.