The only way forward is to go back. Back to our families, our communities, our nation, and our houses of worship.
Copyright: ABC Television [Public domain]
Our opinion page has been critical of President Trump’s policy towards Iran and America’s love affair with capitalism to the point of placing that economic system, which bears a name given to it by none other than Karl Marx, on a pedestal reserved for the Founding Fathers of the Republic. There is, however, one thing that Trump understands, one true path that he can lead America on and that is the path away from discredited 19th century “isms” and back to the human values of family, community, nation, tradition, and God.
The one thing that cannot be denied when you look at the world today is that all the political theories that sprung up in the wake of the industrial revolution have failed miserably. Be it liberalism, socialism, communism, and yes, capitalism, they have all proven to be dehumanizing, alienating, destructive, and at utter odds with the human spirit.
Human beings need a financial system that allows them to maximize their potential, be it a split ranch in the suburbs or a sprawling ocean-front mansion. If we wish to call this system capitalism, so be it. But let us not forget those other human needs, needs that are even more fundamental to our happiness; the need to have a family, a community, to be surrounded by people with whom we can identify, who think and believe the same way as we do when it comes to the most important things in life. The formation of stable communities that are based on stable families, the maintenance of nations that are formed from strong communities, is an absolute need of the human spirit and a fundamental human right, the right upon which, first and foremost, America was founded.
Our economic system, must balance our individual right to reach our peak potential with the needs of our nation to remain free and prosperous for generations to come. Our private business must be balanced with our public business, or as the Romans would say our res publica, our republic. Viewed from that perspective, it makes perfect sense to subsidize farming by tariffs and other means because farms, especially the smaller family ones, create our landscapes and guarantee our food safety. Perhaps we pay a little more in the grocery store, but Vermont still has its green pastures dotted with beautiful Holstein cattle and we can all still enjoy great dairy products made right here at home.Other countries like Canada and Switzerland will of course do the same and that is just fine.
We must stop looking at people as interchangeable units of labor, be it for picking strawberries or for writing code. People are not computer chips, they are our brothers and sisters, our countrymen and women. The people who are currently running America from both parties are in the pocket of those who have forgotten about the thing public, who care not about the republic and hide behind concepts like “shareholder value” while they decimate our morals, our families, our communities, and our places of worship.
Our well-being does not live in the all but meaningless dots and spaces that we look at when we check our 401(k) balance. We have zero control over what these “dollars” can buy now or in the future, or even if these “dollars” will remain in our “accounts”. True happiness, true security, comes from having a large and loving family, a good set of skills, life within a community of like-minded people that care about you, and a belief in God.
Contrary to what you have been told, it is perfectly OK to dislike those who do not look like you, worship like you, or adhere to fundamentally different lifestyles. I am a Jew. If you prefer not to live in communities that have lots of my kind, it does not offend me in the least; on the contrary, it is only natural. Of course, we should never, like our crazed ideological opponents attempt to harm those we do not like in any way; physical (God forbid), but equally so by doxxing, shaming, getting them fired from their jobs, etc. Having respect for the rights of others does not mean liking them or wanting to live among them, let alone be forced to do so. It is really as simple as that. We are free to choose whom we associate with; without an explanation, without shame, openly and with pride.
I disagree with Trump’s penchant for putting the almighty dollar on a pedestal that is a few notches too high for my taste. I think that he will find it unsustainable and indeed impossible to outsource America’s role as the policeman of the world to others without extreme adverse consequences to America itself. But I am forever a Trump supporter because alone in American politics he loves America. He loves her passionately, unconditionally, with the true love of a son to his mother. That love means that the policy choices he makes, be they on domestic or foreign or economic policies are driven only by America’s interests and what he perceives them to be, nothing else. And if results do not justify the chosen policy, if they show it to be less than successful, Trump will change the policy rather than cling to some dogma like “constitutionalism”, “free market economics”, “capitalism”, or the like. There is nothing universal in how Trump perceives America. There are no universal rights. There is America the nation and Americans the people that make up that nation and it is only in their interest that Trump is acting and will continue to act. For that alone he deserves our eternal gratitude and support.
- Report: Apple Moving Mac Computer Production To China From U.S.
- Kremlin Says Trump ‘Reacted Positively’ To Invitation To Attend Moscow’s Victory Day Parade
