Where Is Our Common Cause<\/p>\n
Last night I watched two contrasting views of America. These views have often been presented as good and evil (by me as well), but I don\u2019t think that characterization is necessary.\u00a0\u00a0 For the first time in a while, I listened to those views outside of the turmoil of the Mueller Investigation. It is more than just President Trump, it is more than just Congressman Kennedy. It is two differing views of our country.<\/p>\n
Get past the \u201cMake America White Again\u201d rhetoric of the left. There is a real view of those that back the President, a view that sees America and Americans First as an imperative for action. This ideology makes the first priority of the government to improve American lives, and is, as Congressman Kennedy presents it, a \u201czero sum\u201d game. If we improve lives for Americans, we can\u2019t improve lives for others, we don\u2019t have the resources.<\/p>\n
There has always been this debate about economics: whether giving wealth to businesses and the rich makes America better. Those that favor this look at the times of tremendous growth, particularly the \u201cGilded Age\u201d after the American Civil War. America built infrastructure: from railroads to cities to factories to canals. America invented \u201ceverything\u201d from farm equipment to telephones, to manufacturing processes. America became a world power, first in trade requiring markets, then to overseas possessions to transport goods, and finally to military strength to protect those markets and possessions. And we did this with unfettered capitalism, and nearly unlimited labor.<\/p>\n
When President Trump calls for less regulation (the \u201cTrump surrogate\u201d quote: we cut from 100,000 regulations to 62,000 in the first year) he sees this as freeing the economic giant waiting, just as it was freed 140 years ago. When he cuts taxes to corporations and the wealthy, that feeds the giant, stirring it to new feats of growth and power.<\/p>\n
The problem: \u00a0the tax cuts means the government can do less for Americans when it comes to health care, education and other social services. \u00a0Fewer regulations also means fewer protections. \u00a0And all of this means a greater disparity of wealth among Americans.<\/p>\n
And all of this is for Americans, not for the world. America First means we should shrug off the responsibility of the world, and focus on our own issues. As Presidential Advisor Stephen Miller said in that crazy press conference go-round with CNN\u2019s Jim Acosta: the Statue of Liberty stands as a shining example to the world \u2013 not an invitation to participate.<\/p>\n
Congressman Kennedy, in the Democratic rebuttal to Trump\u2019s State of the Union speech, pointed out that America First has meant abandoning the world. Whether it\u2019s the environment, immigration, or trade: America First has meant leave the world out. He offers a more difficult view of the world \u2013 a world in which America is a leader, is involved, and is willing to compromise to be a part of a whole world solution.<\/p>\n
America needs to share. It needs to share its wealth, its prestige, and its dedication to freedom and human rights. Kennedy\u2019s view sees America as more than just a \u201cWinner over Losers.\u201d America needs to make the world Win. Not only is this the \u201cright\u201d or \u201cmoral\u201d thing to do, but it is also the way to make the world safer for all.<\/p>\n
It starts with America at home \u2013 taking care of its own. The uncontrolled capitalism of the Gilded Age was built on cheap immigrant labor.\u00a0\u00a0 Regulations were written to protect the workers from exploitation: coal miners from unvented mines that exploded, ten year olds from back breaking labor, factory workers from dangerous unprotected machinery. The \u201cwinners\u201d of capitalism then meant the \u201closers\u201d of labor. That is the \u201czero sum game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy spoke of a country, and a world, where we don\u2019t have to choose winners and losers. As he put it: \u201cI choose both.\u201d It is harder because there are so many more to be concerned about. But a world where everyone has a stake, a chance to advance, and where there is less contrast between the “haves and the have nots;”means a world vested in succeeding, rather than destroying. \u00a0That is a world with fewer terrorists, less violence, and more competition to improve.<\/p>\n
The words on the Statue of Liberty:<\/p>\n