It is sad that many Americans do not know history. I blame the results of the 2024 US Presidential election on that along with today’s popular mindset that is only concerned with how something affects “me” instead of being concerned with “the common good.”
A policy of isolationism has never turned out well for the United States, and I doubt it will as we find ourselves in a true global economy in which no country can thrive in isolation.
Donald Trump campaigned for President on an America First agenda. That apparently sounded good to half the population. The picture he painted of America First did not include alienating the allies we’ve had for our entire 248-year history. It did not include turning our backs on Ukraine and embracing Vladimir Putin. Trump so successfully sold half the voters a bill of goods that they find themselves unable to admit they were hoodwinked. They cannot admit they made a grave mistake in the voting booth.
They interpreted “America First” as an idyllic country in which we would literally build walls instead of bridges, we would have cheap eggs and cheap gasoline, we would not be bothered by having under-paid migrants picking our fruits and vegetables, we would not be bothered with immigrants cleaning our hotel rooms or cutting our grass, and we would not have to compete with highly-qualified foreigners for jobs we have not prepared ourselves to assume.
It is a fact that Americans already have cheap gasoline compared to such places as Great Britain. As the “Bird Flu” continues to spread, we already look back on $4.00-a-dozen eggs as “the good old days.” And how many of us are lining up to make the beds and clean the toilets in hotels for $7.25-an-hour?
Much of America finds itself in an “us versus them” mentality. It is a mindset based in a belief that anyone who doesn’t look and talk like I do doesn’t have the right to live… not a right to live in the United States, at least. When I voiced my political views on social media in January, one commenter told me I should find another country to live in.
I was fortunate to have been born in the United States. I did nothing to deserve that. My immigrant ancestors came here in the 1700s and — fortunately for me — were not deported by the Native Americans who had been living here for thousands of years.
By merely being born in the United States I am the recipient of blessings and opportunities about which the majority of people in the world can only dream.
Don’t get me wrong… illegal immigration into the United States needs to be addressed, but the mistakes of the past have turned Americans into an “us versus them” mentality in which the “us” no longer view “them” as human beings. The dehumanization of people leads to hate and violence.
It is tragic that we now have a President who repeatedly tells us that we are victims, suckers, and losers being taken advantage of by other countries.
“What’s the history of “America First?” you may ask.
Former Secretary of State, the late Madeleine Korbel Albright, explained it well in her book, Fascism: A Warning, in 2018, so I will quote some of what she wrote:
“America First is a slogan with a past. Founded in 1940, the America First Committee (AFC) brought together pacifists, isolationists, and Nazi sympathizers to fight against the country’s prospective entry into World War II. The AFC opposed creation of the Selective Service and also a Roosevelt initiative known as Lend-Lease, to keep the British in food and arms as they struggled to survive the German onslaught. Within twelve months of its founding, the committee had built a membership of more than 800,000 and attracted support from across the political spectrum – corporate tycoons and Socialists alike.”
Albright also wrote, “Four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war on the United States. The AFC soon disbanded and, in the intervening decades, its name has carried a stigma of naivete and moral blindness. Now ‘America First’ is back – but what does it mean?”
Donald Trump stated at an assembly of the United Nations that every country should put its interests first. But Albright maintains, “What the assertion ignores is the stake that all countries have in the fates of others.”
My thoughts
I started Janet’s Writing Blog more than a decade ago. Until recently, I planned to basically blog about my journey as a writer and my journey as a reader. As time passed and I wanted to establish my credibility as a writer of history and historical fiction, I began to blog about historical events and documents, usually on anniversary dates.
I did not plan, intend, or want to turn my blog into a political platform. I still do not want to do that, but I find myself in a situation in which I cannot avoid it. I must live with myself. I cannot have this public platform and pretend that everything in our country and world are going well.
Writers are cautioned against being too political, but aren’t writers, teachers, and scientists the first groups and individuals fascist governments go after? I don’t want to turn my blog into nothing but a political sounding board; however, I will not sit idly by while our government is dismantled.
Until the day that I am silenced, I will continue to voice my opinions and speak out against injustices. I will come down on the side of the United States Constitution, and I will come down on the side of the downtrodden. My Presbyterian faith instructs me to do so.
The growing mindset in the United States is “us” versus “them.” I think the 2024 Presidential Election bears that out. In the words of Secretary Albright, “To reduce the sum of our existence to a competitive struggle for advantage among more than two hundred nations is not clear-eyed but myopic. People and nations compete, but that is not all that they do.”
We have just experienced a week of whiplash caused by the policies, pronouncements, Executive Orders, and constantly changing mind of Donald Trump. One day we have tariffs, the next day we don’t, but the next day we do, and no one knows – apparently, not even Trump – whether they’re on or off later today, much less tomorrow.
The words of Trump supporters that “we need a businessman in the White House” echo in my head. Being a student of government and political science, I bristled at that mindset when it was first voiced and I continue to bristle and cringe at it today.
If this is the way businesses operate, I don’t think our democracy (or any democracy) can afford it. I know a democracy cannot afford this in a constitutional way – in a “this is what we stand for” way.
When facing excessive debt, do businesses fire all their employees only to try to locate and rehire the good ones later? Do businesses issue blanket lies in writing about the performance of the employees they fire or layoff in mass reorganizations in order to make it more difficult for them to find new jobs?
Oops! We didn’t mean to fire the air traffic controllers. We didn’t mean to fire the people who safeguard our nuclear stockpiles. We just meant to fire the scientists working on cures for cancer, the people who are trained to fight wildfires, the people who work at the Veterans Administration and the VA hospitals, and the people who make sure we have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and safe food to eat.
We just meant to cancel classes at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the premier fire academy in the US where firefighters from all over the nation come for special training. (Too bad for the firefighters who had already bought their plane tickets, etc. for the new round of classes that were scheduled to begin this week.)
We just meant to traumatize the millions of disabled and elderly citizens who rely on Social Security. After all, we must find the money somewhere to give the millionaires and billionaires more tax breaks.
To me, that’s a sign of insanity, but I did not major in business administration in college. I majored in political science and my graduate degree is in public administration.
The government is not supposed to be a profit-making entity. It is service oriented. The government does not manufacture things. It contracts with private companies (and billionaires like Elon Musk) for those things. If the federal government is “getting ripped off” as Trump says, perhaps someone needs to take a look at federal contracts with private companies and see where the waste is.
When I worked in government, I was required to recommend to the elected governing body that a contract be given to the lowest bidder unless the lowest bidder was deemed unable to fulfill the contract and accomplish the work as specified. If we think the federal government is paying too much for water faucets or whatever, perhaps the fault likes with the private company selling us those faucets.
If contracts are being issued to the highest bidder because an elected official has a personal relationship or a financial relationship with that bidder, perhaps the elected official needs to be impeached. And the bidder attempting to defraud the government (i.e., the American people) needs to be exposed.
In the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that in the United States of America we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It is time for we, the people, to remind all three branches of the federal government of that.
We are the government. We, the people, are not the enemy of the government. A free press is not the enemy of the people.
Until my next blog post
It is tempting during these uncertain and chaotic times to withdraw and stop listening to or reading the news; however, it is more important than ever that we pay attention. We need to stay as informed as possible about what is happening in and to our government. We need to get our information from a wide range of reliable sources.
I deleted my weekly western North Carolina Hurricane Helene Update today due to the length of my blog post. It should return next week.
I hope you have a good book to read. I have several going now, as usual. Regardless of your political leanings, I encourage you to read Fascism: A Warning, by Madeleine Korbel Albright.
Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
Janet, this is a powerful and thought-provoking post. Your historical perspective and commitment to speaking out for the common good are admirable. It is indeed troubling how easily history is forgotten—or rewritten—to serve political agendas. Your emphasis on the dehumanization that comes with an “us vs. them” mentality resonates deeply. Thank you for continuing to use your platform to encourage awareness and dialogue. We need more voices like yours to remind us of our shared responsibilities in a democracy. Happy Monday, Mike
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Write/Right on, Janet. Thanks for sharing that portion of Madeleine Albright’s book. Deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would put it The people that need to learn this are probably the people least likely to do so. Keep fighting the good fight. Cheetos should be a snack food, not enshrined.
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Well said, all of it! Thank you, Janet
On Mon, Mar 10, 2025, 6:01 AM Janet’s Writing Blog < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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Thank you for speaking out, Janet.
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Thank you for your moral support, Liz. Hang in there!
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Thank you, Vicki. I wanted to say more. I edited this post more after I scheduled it than any other blog post I’ve written. I deleted two paragraphs in the wee hours Monday morning.
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Thank you, Pat. I wanted to say a lot more. Every time I thought I’d finished this post and scheduled it, I found myself opening it up and editing again. I deleted two paragraphs in the middle of the night Sunday night/Monday morning. I’m probably not reaching the people who need to read it. I love your Cheetos reference! Keep up the fight!
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Thank you so much, Mike. You have no idea how much your detailed comment means to me. It took me hours to get this post the way I wanted it. In fact, my blog is all I have to show for my writing last week, but maybe that is how it needs to be for now. I am deeply concerned about the direction in which our country is going. I think changes are being made too fast and without due diligence. The baby is being thrown out with the bath water. The wrecking of our alliances around the world, getting way too chummy with Putin, and abandoning science are all signs to me that we are losing our democracy. Many thanks, Mike.
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Stock market is tanking. Most of the world is united against us because of the way we have started a tariff war, unilaterally broken treaties, arbitrarily renamed waters that do not belong to us, canceled aid, lied about who are the aggressors, and threw out decorum and human decency for soundbites and headlines. Not bad for a month’s work.
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amen
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He’s trying to beat Hitler’s record of destroying a democracy in 53 days. Can’t believe how dug in his followers are. Truly a cult.
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‘Struth!
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Well said, Janet. All I can say is that I have never in my life felt such intense contempt in the UK and Europe for the USA as now. Even European politicians, usually the poodles of the US President of the day, have found their voices at last – some of them. at least. You talk rightly about the importance of learning from history. Well, Europe should remember that appeasing strong men leaders, fascists, Nazis, oligarchs, et al, does not work. I’m delighted that we in Europe are spending billions on re-arming – long overdue, as many of us have been grumbling for years. I hope our arms will always be directed to the task of preventing the resurgence of the Soviet Union, but if we have to turn them towards the US – if, for example, your idiot president decides to attack Canada – then so be it. I suspect that, unlike six months ago, we’ve now imagined that scenario, accepted it as possible and begun to prepare. Can the US defeat all of Europe, Canada, Australia and NZ? Let’s see. In that war, which side does Trump think China will be on? Does he think Putin will be his ally? Or is he relying on aid from North Korea…
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Well done, Janet! I agree with your blog 100%!
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You’re welcome, Janet. I’m hanging in one day at a time.
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Thank you, Pat!
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Thank you, Jim!
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That’s all we can do, Liz. Some days it’s an hour at a time.
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You have no idea what your response means to me. It has shaken me to see in print how people in the UK are feeling. I’ve seen it reported, but to see it in black and white from a blogger friend has shaken me. The unthinkable scenario you mention has occurred to me as well. It is truly unthinkable! Trump only thinks he is a “strong man.” In fact, I see him as an insecure little boy who never measured up in the eyes of his father. He is nothing but a bully. The fact that he claimed to have bone spurs and his father had enough clout to keep him from being drafted during the Vietnam War is all anyone needs to know about him. I cannot stand the sight of him or his voice. I managed to get through the four years of his first term with using the word “President” and the word “Trump” together because I refused to accept that he held the office. I think he was elected legitimately as far as the vote count goes (although he needed Putin’s propaganda machine in order to pull it off), but he is such a tarnish on the Office of the Presidency I just can’t dignify his name by attaching the title of President. I believe he is the most dangerous person in the world. The other dictators in the world are patient and calculating. Trump is neither. This is a game to him. Empathy, which has been one of America’s strengths, is not in his vocabulary. He is in Putin’s pocket. All it takes is for Putin, Xi, or Kim to flatter him and he is putty in their hands. That is so pathetic! I am encouraged by the European countries stepping up, committing to support Ukraine, and building up their military strength… because we can no longer depend on my country to fight “the Axis of Evil.” It hurts me to my very core to write such words. I feared what would happen if Trump got back in the White House, but what he has done in less than two months is more damage than I thought he would do in four years. I knew it was going to be horrible, but I didn’t anticipate his turning on all our veterans, government employees, and allies so completely and viciously. No one can depend on the US now — not even its own citizens. I pray the people who voted for him will at least admit to themselves someday that they made a deadly mistake. I don’t think most of them will ever admit it aloud because people in cults rarely do that. I never dreamed I would someday be afraid of my own government. On behalf of the 50% of Americans who did not vote for this, I apologize to the rest of the free world. I’ll just leave it at that for now. Thank you for your candor.
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True.
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Well said, Janet. I agree 100% with everything you wrote here. We do not learn from history, and we keep repeating the same mistakes. It is idiotic to believe that if something did not work in the past—like isolationism—it will work now, especially when we are so interconnected and countries depend on each other for so many things.
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Dear Janet,
Thank you for defending democracy. I can sense that you care very much for our country. I like how you said that government is to serve the people, not to make profit. To blow off steam some days we hear the news from comedian Colbert on YouTube. Then we can laugh into our tears. Thank you for your voice of reason and justice.
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Wow. Nothing else needs to be said, you hit the nail directly on the head. I really appreciate your thoughts and comments. Have a great evening.
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Thank you, Tangie. Have a good evening and a beautiful Sunday.
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Thank you, Dear Rebecca. Colbert is one thing that keeps me going! We must try to find some humor in this serious situation.
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Thank you, Edward. Yes, you’re right. What didn’t work in the 19th century, surely won’t work in the 21st. So much damage is being done to our economy and our standing in the world — and it’s happening almost overnight.
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Indeed, and it will take a long time and hard work for us to regain our credibility.
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I think the brave have to do what they have to do.
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That’s right, Barb. I didn’t expect to ever be in this situation, but here I am!
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