Raking to Make America Great Again
By Jonathan C. Rothermel
Later the November 2022 election, President Donald Trump became the 10th president in U.Due south. history to neglect to win re-election. What went wrong?
Information technology would be easy to simply blame the messenger. Trump's narcissistic beliefs resulted in often-inexplicable actions; fifty-fifty his supporters wished he would tweet less and human activity more presidential. At times, he appeared as an amateur who was out of his league.
But arraign as well lies with the political bulletin that propelled an inexperienced, celebrity real estate mogul to a surprising victory in 2016. "Make America Great Over again," or MAGA was the rallying weep that mobilized a vocal and active ground forces of Trump supporters.
The trouble with this political message is that information technology was never truly divers, and considering the message was then nebulous, Americans were able to define MAGA in whichever style it pertained to their situation.
The message implied that the United States was in one case "on top" but had fallen behind. Militarily, the gap betwixt the US and its rivals (Communist china and Russian federation) was closing. Economically, the Chinese – and fifty-fifty our allies – were taking advantage of us.
The elementary strategy to MAGA was to quit thinking nigh "others" and focus exclusively on the U.s.a.. This resulted in policies such as the Muslim travel ban, building the wall on the nation's southern edge with Mexico, turning abroad political asylum seekers, renegotiating or pulling out of trade agreements, cutting foreign aid, withdrawing from international organizations and agreements, and openly criticizing allies.
But greatness is non simply reduced to where a country ranks on a list or the number of hard power assets it possesses. Greatness is also defined past the values and principles a nation stands for – what political scientist, Joseph Nye, defined equally soft power or a country's attractiveness to others.
For the past 4 years, the United States has lost its mooring. Instead of countries looking toward the United States with respect and admiration, people limited sadness or even contempt for it. For example, a recent Pew Research Center poll reported that U.South. favorability ratings among thirteen countries, including allies, take declined significantly during the Trump administration.
U Myint Oo, a member of parliament in Myanmar expressed a sentiment that is shared by many others in the world when he said, "I experience distressing for Americans," regarding the American government's bungled coronavirus response and Trump'south undemocratic beliefs.
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AnIrish Times columnist evoked surprise in the U.S. in Apr 2022 when he observed that: "Over more ii centuries, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: dearest and hatred, fearfulness and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. Only there is 1 emotion that has never been directed towards the U.S. until at present: pity."
While the underlying message of MAGA was to support Americans outset and foremost, the policies of the past four years accept failed to help everyday Americans.
Instead of investing in wide policies such every bit teaching and healthcare, the policies of the past iv years lined the pockets of the wealthy. Economical inequality worsened – even before the pandemic. While Americans struggle financially and emotionally during the pandemic, the net wealth of America's billionaires has risen.
In a contempo London School of Economics paper, authors David Hope and Julian Limberg questioned the notion that trickle-downward economic science and tax cuts for the rich leads to economic growth. Alternatively, investing in human capital would pay long-term dividends and opportunities for Americans.
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InTightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn write, "At that place's a brittleness to life for about 150 one thousand thousand Americans, with a abiding hazard that sickness, layoffs or a auto blow volition cause everything to collapse." They dispel the "bootstrap narrative" every bit myth, and advocate for investments in universal healthcare, early childhood programs, baby bonds and child allowances, and support for education and employment.
In reality, MAGA was zippo more than a disingenuous campaign slogan because information technology lacked any meaningful effort to address the problems that a majority of Americans are actually facing, such as crippling debt, crumbling infrastructure, racial injustices, drug and alcohol corruption, and unaffordable health care.
Iv years after Trump's promise to make America bully again, many Americans had come to realize the shallowness of the slogan and voted for substantive political change.
To be – equally sometime President Ronald Reagan once said – "a shining urban center upon a hill," American greatness needs to be defined more than broadly and not just as a measure of relative hard power. Information technology should reflect the empowerment of Americans at home besides as the respect for U.S. leadership and values abroad.
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Investing in human capital at home and working with countries away are not mutually exclusive. In fact, global problems such every bit terrorism, climatic change, and pandemics require global solutions, which benefit from American ingenuity and leadership.
In 2021, humility, pity and back up for humanity, and leading by example are virtues that can assistance make America cracking again, because when America is truly great, the entire earth benefits.
Jonathan C. Rothermel is an associate professor of political science at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. His work appears occasionally on the Capital-Star's Commentary Folio. Follow him on Twitter @ProfJCR.
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Source: https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/heres-how-to-really-make-america-great-again-in-2021-jonathan-c-rothermel/
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