President Trump caught dropping the “N” word

 
Oh, the horror!  He referred to himself with the “N” word.

(CNN)At a rally in Houston Monday night for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump said this:

“A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much. And you know what? We can’t have that. You know, they have a word. It sort of became old-fashioned. It’s called a nationalist. And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist.

“Nationalist. Nothing — use that word. Use that word.”

I’ll use it:  I’m a nationalist.  I believe in supporting the best interests of my country.

Chris Cillizza however, takes issue with the term:

On its face, Trump seemed to simply be saying that while past presidents — and politicians — cared a lot about other countries and what other countries thought about the United States (i.e. globalists), that he cares primarily about the US and what is good for us (nationalist).

The problem, of course, is that words matter. And the American president referring to himself as a nationalist has all sorts of problems wrapped up in it.

Let’s start with what nationalism means. Here’s the definition, from Merriam-Webster (emphasis mine): “a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”

That part in bold is what makes nationalism different than patriotism. While patriotism, like nationalism, shares a pride and belief in one’s own country or values, it doesn’t include the idea of promoting your values and culture as inherently superior to those of others. (Here’s a good breakdown of the differences between patriotism and nationalism.)

Then there the historical context of the word “nationalism.” It primarily conjures two close associations: Nazism and white nationalism.

The roots of Adolf Hitler’s rise were built around his emphasis on extreme nationalism — the idea that the only way Germany could be great again was to seize onto the superiority of the German people and drive out those across Europe who refused to acknowledge that superiority.

White nationalism, which reared its ugly head in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year is organized under the principle that Caucasians are inherently superior and in order for society to truly prosper, the agenda of whites needs to be recognized as a first priority — at the necessary expense of anyone who isn’t white.

Now, do I think that Donald Trump was thinking about all of that linguistic and historical context when he called himself a “nationalist” in Houston on Monday night? Probably not.

Absolutely not!

We don’t elect a president to represent the world.  We elect him to represent the United States.  His Constitutional oath of office doesn’t make him promise to protect and preserve the global community.  It’s to serve the United States.

“Nationalism” is not a dirty word.  The concept can lead to dark ideas; but it, in itself, is not a dark concept.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) told Wolf Blitzer

that his “first reaction” to Trump’s comment was that the word that “is a synonym to a nationalist is a chauvinist, and that apparently is what this president is.”

“It reminds me of the kinds of words that came from people like Hitler, who thought that in Germany he was a nationalist, and the kinds of people that this president seems to like, and those who are repressive dictators, those are the individuals that generally use that kind of phrase and those kinds of words,” he claimed.

We are hardly close to being anything like Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

There is nothing at all evil in wanting to protect our borders and know who is coming into our country.

There is nothing wrong with putting America first.  What country doesn’t look after its people’s own best interests?  What’s the point of a government if it’s not advocates for the betterment of its own people first, before others?  And if you want to help others, you first have to look after your own self.  And because America is a wealthy nation due to looking after its own interests, it affords us allowance in being generous toward other nations in providing global security, financial aid, etc.

On a micro scale, doesn’t it make sense that each family looks out for the best interests of their family members?  The head of the household’s responsibility is first and foremost to his own family.  By taking care of his (or her) family first, he takes care of the community.   If you can’t help yourself first, it’s difficult to help others.  By way of analogy, it’s why you’re told by the flight attendance that if oxygen masks are dropped during a flight, you put the mask over your own face first before helping that of your child or others sitting beside you.

Every country in the world is looking out for their best interest.  There’s nothing wrong with saying “I belong to the greatest country on God’s green earth”.  It’s a beautiful thing to think and say.  If someone who isn’t American said that to me about his own country, I’d feel comforted that he felt love and pride about his country- because those feelings can be beautiful (and, yes, can also lead to ugliness; but it’s not automatic).  It’s like when someone says “I have the best mom in the whole world!”  Why argue against that?  Why perceive that as a selfish, ugly thing?   Everyone should feel that way about their parents.  And everyone should be nationalist and push forth what’s in the best interest of their country.

President’s response to criticism:

Trump cast his use of the term nationalist along the lines of international trade and patriotism, and not as something akin to white nationalism.

He complained that “immensely wealthy” countries, such as Saudi Arabia, do not reimburse the U.S. for military protection; that other nations do not adequately contribute to global alliances like NATO; and that certain countries have put up unfair trade barriers that harm the U.S.

“All I want for our country is to be treated well, to be treated with respect,” Trump said. “For many years other countries that are allies of ours, so-called allies, they have not treated our country fairly, so in that sense I am absolutely a nationalist and I’m proud of it.”

Trump declared at a Monday night rally in Houston that he identifies as a nationalist and railed against “globalists” who care more about the well-being of the world.

The crowd broke into a chant of “U.S.A” in response.

I believe in America’s values and ideals.  In its history, warts and all.  I believe in perpetuating a unified culture (which also embraces the concept of a melting pot) based upon a history of Judeo-Christian tradition and heritage which has made the values and ideas we hold dear, possible.

And as arrogant as it sounds, I believe America has been a positive force in the world that has enriched the world in which we live, for other countries as well. Peace and prosperity and the reduction over the years in armed conflicts all across the globe is by no accident.  If America were truly the evil, greedy, imperialistic nation that anti-Americans believed, then armed conflicts would be going up and not down.  Iraq and Afghanistan would be turned into two more U.S. states.  The U.S., for the most part, has been a stabilizing force for global peace and prosperity.  Turmoil in places like Honduras and El Salvador doesn’t help us.   And our self-interest is tied in with making sure other nations are doing well.  We are the indispensable nation.  It’s why there is a caravan of people who desire to storm their way into our country….just in time for November mid-term election day.

But we cannot absorb everyone, all at once.  Because if we do that, we cease to be the United States.  We end up with mini nations within our nation.  For us to remain intact- for American values and culture be preserved- it requires us to embrace the concept of assimilation (another dirty word for leftists who prefer the idea of multiculturalism and cultural equality).

There is nothing wrong with wanting to control the flow; with vetting who should come and who is unsafe and unworthy for entering our borders.

I believe in being one people.  Out of many One.  Not out of one, many.

I believe in the N-word:

I believe in nationalism.