“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
When I first saw Donald Trump’s quote the other day about abandoning NATO to Vladimir Putin, I found myself thinking he had finally gone too far. No decent American could possibly forget the lesson of the 1930s when Adolf Hitler devoured much of Europe at least partly because we did nothing to stop him.
Truly even all but the most rabid Trumpanzees would shake their heads and say their hero had gone a bridge too far.
That sound you hear is Georges Santayana spinning in his grave.
Who would ever have believed that one of the most ignoble movements in our history — “America First” from the 1930s — could possibly have gained respectability in the present? It’s like waking up seeing George Wallace’s “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” back on the Hit Parade.
Heck, it’s like seeing the Hit Parade come back.
We are truly the stupidest people imaginable when it comes to learning from history. Something like two-thirds of Americans never read a book after finishing school. Twenty percent of Americans are functionally illiterate and another 40 percent can’t comprehend what they read well enough to understand loan contracts.
In 2007-08, thousands of people were given subprime mortgages when they actually qualifed for better ones. When some of them were informed of this later, they were legitimately puzzled. Why would they cheat us, they asked. The answer is simple. Because they could.
It’s why Trump says he loves the poorly educated. It’s why when Ronald Reagan was told in a debate that a quarter of Americans go to bed hungry at night, he grinned and said of course. They were on diets.
Hyuk hyuk.
There is one huge difference between Reagan and Trump. Reagan knew he wasn’t that bright when it came to issues and was willingto defer to others as long as his basic seven-word philosophy was followed.
America good. Russia bad. Taxes too high.
Trump isn’t really any brighter than Reagan, but he thinks he is. In fact, if you ask him, nobody is as smart as he is.
His philosophy is basically two words.
No, not America first. That’s his lie.
Me first.
Me second.
Me third.
Louis XIV may or may not have said “L’etat, c’est moi,” but whether he says it or not, you know that’s exactly what Trump believes.
Even on Valentine’s Day, he posted a message of love to his wife Melanie and urged his supporters to show their love. The link they can use to show that love goes to a page where they can donate money to his personal and campaign needs.
As for America First, those are just words with Trump. But the original Firsters before the Second World War were all about keeping out of Germany’s way as Hitler conquered the Western World.
Woody Guthrie said it best. “When they say America first, they mean America next.”
The thing is, Hitler wouldn’t have stopped with the Eastern Hemisphere.
Neither will Putin.
That’s why no matter what it takes, Trump cannot be allowed to be president again.