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Saturday, March 21, 2020

America on the Brink



Friends, anxiety is rising.  Store shelves are bare.  School and work are cancelled.  Guns and ammo are selling like hotcakes.  We all know why.  It's simple...

WaddyIsRight hasn't published a new article since March 2nd!!!  No wonder civilization is close to collapse.

Fear not: help is on the way!

My latest article, which will soon appear at American Greatness, shares what I think will be one of the primary lessons of the coronavirus pandemic: globalist, supranational institutions are ill-equipped to deal with real emergencies, and, pressed to the wall, people still look first to their compatriots and to national, state, and local leaders to save the day.  That's as it should be.  It's a powerful confirmation of what nationalist conservatives have been saying since the 19th century: national identities are true, visceral, and meaningful, whereas internationalism is, oftentimes, a dangerous fantasy.

Read on, and see if you agree:

Will the Pandemic Lead to Vindication for Trumpian Nationalism?

Even in the grip of virus-related panic, most liberals are demonstrating a remarkable ability to remain focused on what they regard as Job One: trashing Donald Trump. Nevertheless, in some quarters on the Left, one can perceive glimmerings of uneasiness. In addition to ordinary human concern over the fate of themselves, their friends and family, and mankind as a whole (from which liberals, despite their neurotic fixation on Trump, are not immune), this uneasiness has two primary causes.

First, liberals are beginning to perceive the danger in Trump's newfound status as, in effect, a wartime president. Trump is leading America's — and, to a point, the world's — response to an unprecedented crisis. These are circumstances in which a chief executive can bolster his image greatly, unless he fumbles the opportunity in legendary fashion. Liberals and the “gentlemen of the press” are working diligently to create the impression that Trump is indeed floundering, but unfortunately for them the relative success of the United States, versus the Euro-socialists, in containing and managing the pandemic, makes these smears less than credible. There is compelling evidence that Trump is plowing right through the blizzard of misinformation and connecting with the American people in a positive and reassuring way. Once the “curve” really does get bent, and infections and deaths begin to decline, it's very hard to imagine that President Trump will not be credited with helping to rescue the American people from a terrible threat.

Second, and less obvious in the heat of epidemiological battle, is the fact that, worldwide, the response to the crisis has not followed the pattern that leftists would prefer. While global and supranational coordination of the virus response has been important, the most critical decisions about how to respond are occurring at the national, state/provincial, and even local levels. The Left has been laboring for decades to create a world that is seamlessly interconnected, that is borderless and multicultural, that is devoid of ethnic and nationalist prejudices, and that transcends as much as possible the concept of the nation-state and national sovereignty in favor of the construction of a new world order in which bureaucratic, corporate, and academic elites enact progressive change on a wide, regional basis, at a minimum (think: the E.U.), and on a global scale, if at all possible (think: the U.N.). The coronavirus pandemic has scrambled these assumptions and aspirations, to say the very least.

While liberals would like for Americans, and others, to think of themselves as members of a “global village,” in the current climate of high anxiety, things have moved quickly in the opposite direction. President Trump was criticized, from a globalist perspective, for his early decisions to cut off airline travel with China, and then with the European Union. Days later, the very Euro-socialists who had chided him were acceding to the implementation of identical policies in their own homelands. Everywhere we look, countries are closing their borders, denying entry to foreigners, forbidding the exportation of critical medical supplies, nationalizing vital industries and infrastructure, and raising the proverbial drawbridge of global oneness. It would seem that, alarmed by the rapid, transnational spread of the virus, most people's reaction has been, understandably, to focus first and foremost on “taking care of one's own”. Even Germany, arguably the headquarters of internationalism, is rapidly reconstructing and securing its borders
 
Not surprisingly, under these circumstances, some Europeans are beginning to ask the question: if the E.U. (not to mention the U.N.) is so powerless and useless in a moment of crisis, and if most people turn instead to their national leaders for guidance and protection, then what is the bloc's future? And what is the point of pursuing internationalism even as an ideal, when interconnectedness itself exposes us to such serious risks? After all, the pandemic would have been far easier to manage if cross-border trade and travel were not so pervasive — if people, all along, had stuck closer to home. These are perfectly reasonable and natural questions to ask right now. They are also questions that the Left has done its level best either to ignore or to suppress for decades.

As always, the Left has attempted to achieve its long-term ideological goal — the obliteration of nationalism and the creation of an globalist mass consciousness — in a gradual, insidious manner. In many ways, their project has been crowned with remarkable success, at least if the widespread opposition to border protection, to the enforcement of immigration laws, and to the pursuit of trade fairness and reciprocity is any indication.

The headwinds of the coronavirus pandemic threaten to derail the Left's anti-nationalist program in a serious, and perhaps in a permanent, way. As Nigel Farage declared recently, in the Age of Corona, “We are all nationalists now.” 
 
If he's right, President Trump's reelection prospects will start to look much brighter — and the sneering know-it-alls who have shoved the E.U. and the U.N., and much else besides, down humanity's collective throat for the last 60+ years may finally be forced into a strategic retreat.

Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears weekly on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480.

And here it is at American Greatness:

https://amgreatness.com/2020/03/23/pandemic-nationalism/ 

29 comments:

  1. Excellent article. Thanks.

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  2. Excellent...and I love Kermit (and Miss Piggy), just saying, grin.

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  3. As I'm sure you have noticed, I am not as optimistic as Dr. Waddy is, at least as far as politics and politicians go.

    With that said, I have a gut feeling that when this Corona Virus thing is over, that people will tend to blank it out of their minds, and the usual b******t will resume.

    Trump will probably be reelected in November, but don't count on the DemoSocialists from attempting to rig the elections. Then after that passes, and Trump remains in The White House, they will come up with another conspiracy where Russia (or some other country) helped him win the election.

    This will be followed by the same claptrap investigations and then more impeachment efforts.

    Does that sound grim.? Sorry, but the people we are dealing with on our political Left are real nasty, and more so than we realize.

    On that note, 2024 is going to be a very dangerous year. The Left will not tolerate another Republican President in The White House and somehow they will force their way in by whatever means.

    Does that sound depressing and sad? That's because it is. We also need to standby for whatever else comes out of China. Add to this the next school or mall shooting and the situation is mighty bleak.

    Sorry to be so pessimistic, but that is what I am seeing for the future.

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    1. The only person who will try to rig the election is Trump. If he doesn't like the results, he will do everything in his power to thwart the will of the people.

      The only reason he hasn't been talking about postponing the election is that he is constitutionally prohibited from postponing it. It would take an act of Congress, and that won't happen.

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  4. Looking at this Corona Virus scare from another angle, we Americans have also created our own epidemics through neglect and political stupidity. I'm talking about those actual and potential epidemics caused as a result of the large homeless populations in our big cities, and a few smaller ones too. Places like Los Angeles have had Typhus outbreaks. Things like this are a NATIONAL DISGRACE. We also have a drug pandemic going on in these very same places. Cities like San Francisco have hypodermic needles all over the place. So, I guess we can say, Who In The Hell Who Are We to Raise Hell With China for this Pandemic? Before we heap shame on China, we need to heap shame on ourselves as well.

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  5. Sorry for another sour note, however (always a great qualifying word), Dr. Waddy has indicated that there is NO guaranteed victory for President Trump come November 2020. I hope I did not misunderstand this, and if I did I apologize in advance.

    However, (there is that word again) I do NOT apologize for suggesting that the DemoLIARS will use the Corona Virus disruptions (an understatement), as a weapon against Trump. They are already doing it, and note that they are attacking Trump directly in that the pandemic is all his fault for not acting quickly enough.

    With that said, don't forget that the American people are also fickle and many more than we realize are easily manipulated. So don't gasp in horror if Comrade Commissar Biden is elected in November. Worse yet, if Biden picks Kamala Harris etc. as his VP, think what it would be like if Joe kicked off with dementia.

    Yes, I know, I am not thinking positive, but thinking negative has more positive points than we realize.

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    1. Hmm. Interesting thoughts. Not sure about "Uncle Joe" more like one might see Cuomo throwing himself in. He has been receiving accolades with his handling of this crisis and our "house arrest" here in NY. For the record, I share your pessimism. I still can't help think all this going on -we the American people have been "had."

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    2. Linda,

      Just remember that the system we have enjoyed so far in The United States of America is rare in history, and that dictatorships and whatnot are the rule 99% of the time. We really have been the exception, but I have a feeling that we won't last out this century in peace and freedom. What a tragedy that will be!

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    3. The Democrats won't be using the virus against Trump. They will be using his handling of the virus against him. Except for shutting down flights from China (a no-brainer), he has handled this poorly. He didn't take the crisis seriously until March, even calling it a hoax. He suggested it would magically go away, and here we are with 42,200 cases and 515 deaths and skyrocketing. There have been long and unnecessary delays in testing, and all sorts of erroneous information about testing and equipment availability. Trump's suggestion that we should just dive in and give chloroquine to people sick with COVID-19 (based on a French study with 30 patients) is not only reckless, but dangerous. You have 3 phases of drug trials (efficacy, dosage, side effects) for a reason. COVID-19 patients in Nigeria being treated with chloroquine are suffering from chloroquine poisoning. Now Trump wants to reduce social distancing recommendations as soon as possible because the stock market is now lower than when he took office. Hong Kong ended their social distancing protocols early, and the virus came roaring back.

      If Trump wants the market to go back up, he step away from the podium and let the adults in the room (like Dr. Fauci) run the show.

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  6. Dr. Waddy et al: Churchill, whose intense love of his country and his conviction that its civilization was superior (i.e. his unconquerable nationalism) may well have saved the world from May 1940 to Dec. 1941, said: "democracy is the worst form of government until you consider all the others". The same may be said of nationalism.

    The U.S. in the 20th century directed its faith in its fundamental soundness to the defeat of harrowing and unprecedented inhumanity.

    These "touchy-feelies" are always dreaming up ideals in their airy salons. And in practice they usually fail, often catastrophically. No surprise there. But tragedy obtains in their ability to capture the fancy of so very many terribly influential factions (eg. the Boomers).
    This Chief Executive of the Federal US gov't can be plausibly and creditably seen, based on his performance so far in office, as a courageous and insightful leader. It is reasonable to predict he will prove to have handled this crisis in an inspired manner. Too, the leadup to the election COULD be defined by a resurgence of national life which may well redound to his favor. And if this effort enables a precipitate expansion of Federal power, there is no one in whose hands I would rather see it vested. He is the visceral enemy (perhaps so much so due to their vicious attack on him) of the left which would be blithe to benefit from any crisis, as the disgraced Mayor of Chicago bade them in earlier office. In having savaged him, they have invited Nemesis upon their disdainful and presumptuous elite.

    Re: the election: one can count on Andrew Cuomo attempting to benefit from media celebration of his "resolve" in NY in contrast to their predictable trashing of the President's performance. He probably sees this as a fortuitous once in a lifetime chance to ride to the rescue. If it fails: "machts nichts, I still have my fief in New Yawk".

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  7. The notion that President Bone Spurs is a wartime president is ridiculous. No one considers him a wartime president except him. Remember, this is a guy who compared sex to going to battle in Vietnam and that he should be getting the Congressional Medal of Honor because he was having sex during a time with all sorts of sexually related diseases out there.

    It's one thing to debate the effectiveness of his policies and his rhetoric. But, don't demean presidents who were actual wartime presidents by suggesting that Trump is in that group.

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  8. Tell me Rod "Progressive" Carveth, was Obama a wartime President? How about the Clintons? You must be talking about that Democrat LBJ who got us into Vietnam. How about those RINO Presidents the Bush Father and Son? Say there, Dad was in World War 2 wasn't he?

    All that aside Rod Carveth, why don't you tell a deplorable like me exactly what YOU would do about this if you were President. Please, let's hear it. You Left Wingers always have a solution don't you? Will Joe Biden fix all this, along with that son of his Hunter?

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  9. First, LBJ did not get us into Vietnam. The Eisenhower Administration got us into Vietnam with its "domino effect" foreign policy. Like with Iran, we backed a corrupt, authoritarian regime to our lasting regret. After that, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon escalated (in different ways) our involvement in Vietnam.

    The solution to the crisis would have been to do almost the complete reverse of what Trump did. Take the crisis seriously back at the beginning of February, not March. Use the Emergency Defense Act to make sure that there was enough medical equipment and bed space. Ramp up testing immediately, and get more people tested faster. Immediately advise social distancing measures. Stop giving press conferences with false and misleading information. I would let Fauci, Redfield and Bird lead the way.

    Of course, I would not have disbanded the pandemic group to begin with, and I would have taken the 2018 report on guidelines on protection for pandemics seriously, along with the intel reports in January and February.

    I would not be backing a bill that gives Mnuchin $500 billion to dole out as he (and his recruits from Goldman Sachs) deems fit and without any revelation as to who got the money (like Trump) for six months.

    We would still have a medical crisis, but one far more manageable. The stock market would also have been far less spooked.

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  10. From your list, I have decided that my favorite, elite progressive President is JFK, that old PT 109 serial fornicator and adulterer, and of course martyr. If JFK were around, he would know what to do. He would no doubt tell us that a better sex life is the key to defeating this virus. I'm sure he would recommend certain positions as more beneficial in combating this dastardly pandemic. I still believe that JFK was snuffed because a bunch of cuckolded husbands got together and hired Lee Harvey Oswald. Better yet, I think JFK may have pronged some Mafia guy's wife by mistake.

    Anyway, I have decided that I need to vote for Joe Biden because together with Hunter they will know exactly what to do about this virus. Together they will come up with a progressive medical team that will perfect a vaccine. I sure hope it doesn't have side effects that cause dementia.

    See ya later Rod. Keep those progressive comments coming. Ya might make a Marxist out of me yet. Adios.

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  11. Boy, Anonymous -- you're not exactly a ray of sunshine! Much of what you predict COULD come to pass. First thing's first: you say Trump will win in 2020. I hope you're right, but we've got a long way to go before now and November...

    Rod, the Dems already rigged the 2018 election (by concocting a phony narrative about "treason"), so why not 2020? Let's just split the difference and agree that, whoever loses, they'll be convinced they were cheated. That seems inevitable these days.

    As for postponing the election, it's never been done, so I'm not sure anyone knows how that would unfold. In the final analysis, the Supreme Court decides -- or, if we get trigger-happy, the people with the most guns decide. I like Trump's chances!

    Anonymous, the Dems are already running negative ads with a coronavirus theme. That probably would have been considered mortifyingly inappropriate a few years ago...but these days, anything that kicks Trump in the butt is a-okay, apparently.

    Could Cuomo steal the nomination from Uncle Joe? Maybe, if Joe self-destructs. Anyone who thinks that's pie-in-the-sky hasn't watched Joe Biden speak in public lately.

    Anonymous, I happen to agree with you that American democracy won't outlast this century. I give it a generation or less. What follows, though, could be based on a lot of different models, and either the Dems or the GOP could be left nominally in charge. Democracy can also be, err, modified in lots of different ways. I would expect it to end with a whimper, not a bang.

    Rod, the "adults in the room", like Dr. Fauci, don't seem to share your negative appraisal of Trump. You keep saying that shutting down flights to China was a "no-brainer," and I keep telling you that Biden and CNN were against it.

    Jack, I think Churchill was right about democracy. It's a horribly flawed system, but still accrues to the people's benefit better than any alternative. I'm not happy that our democracy is in its death throes, but I still think we need to face the music.

    Rod, I assume you abhorred Bill Clinton as well, who evaded the draft. Are we really still debating Trump's "bone spurs"? He's commander-in-chief -- get over it!

    And sure, it would have been nice if we were able to test more people, more quickly, but plenty of countries -- many of them led by able Euro-socialists, who you, Rod, would love -- are in the same boat. South Korea was better prepared because it has faced viral threats before. We were complacent. That much is true, but there are lots of emergencies for which we'd be ill-prepared. We're human. C'est la vie.

    And Rod, surely you do realize that, in terms of per capita infections and deaths, we are doing better than almost any other advanced country. That equals failure??? Sure it does -- if you draw your conclusions before the facts come in, which of course all liberals do.

    Anonymous, I hope you'll communicate your support to Joe Biden personally. I know he'd be honored. :) Or maybe he'd be confused. Probably confused.

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    1. Nick, what 2018 election are you talking about? The 40 Dems who flipped seats in 2018 did not run on the Mueller Report. They ran largely on health care.

      As for Fauci, he just indicated in an interview with a science magazine this morning his frustration over what Trump says. Fauci noted he can't just push Trump away from the microphone when he is spreading misinformation.

      Yes, Clinton worked the system to evade the draft just as Trump did. The difference is that Clinton was not hypocritical enough to call himself a wartime president, as Trump has done.

      You say South Korea was better prepared for testing because it has faced viral threats before. OK, so how do you explain Germany, which has tested nearly four times as many people per capita as we have?

      As for postponing the election, Congress has already set the date or House and Senate elections "the Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November." That can only be changed by an act of Congress. Article II, Section 4 gives only Congress the power to choose the date of the vote of the electors. Electors are determined by state legislators, and those can't be changed by Trump. So, even if the Supreme Court were inclined to side with Trump, that would mean it would not only have to abandon its "original intent" philosophy, it would be have to engage in unprecedented judicial activism.

      I like the chances of the "will of the people" as to the postponement of the election.

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    2. Good Morning Comrade Carveth

      I like that "will of the people" touch in your comment. Typical of a Marxist to say that. In your ideology, "will of the people" really means "will of the progressive elite" who manipulate people into believing that they have some sort of rights. You liar! You know damn well that in your future United Socialist States of America, only what the leftist elite say will be law. How does it feel to be a leftist pimp? You don't like Trump because his administration is the only thing that stands between the majority of the American people and a Marxist Dictatorship. Pee on you and all leftists everywhere!

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    3. Anonymous -- If you want to debate the issues, fine. But I am not engaging in a debate with someone who is going to launch unwarranted ad hominem attacks. I have not attacked you personally, and I have no plans to engage further with you if you continue to attack me personally.

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    4. Comrade Carveth

      There is never anything to debate with Marxists, so you can count on not hearing from me again, a great pleasure for the both of us I am sure.

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  12. Rod: Consider the following wartime leaders of democracies: Lincoln: Fully expected to step aside and let Seward work the office; left sitting in the parlor while that imperious prig McClellan went to bed; termed "an ape' by one in his cabinet I believe. He proved a competent Commander in Chief. How about Churchill; "nuff said. What in FDR's prePresidential career could have predicted his superb ability to get the best out of U.S.economy and military. Bush I was an honorable and heroic combat pilot but could that have predicted his brilliance in managing the Gulf War? For that matter, how about Napoleon or Mao. It took the test of leadership itself to show their effectiveness.

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    1. Jack, in terms of the test of leadership, Trump has failed miserably. By contrast, someone who I have not before been a fan of -- Andrew Cuomo -- has stepped up with exactly the kind of leadership New York has needed in this crisis.

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  13. Rod: In 2015 I thought Trump a silly dilettante. He has demonstrated since then guts aplenty, an unprecedented faith to his electoral promises, a willingness to replace advisors with whom he cannot work (a very understandable advantage for a consummate executive) and an exemplary affirmation that the nation has done well to empower a nonpolitician and businessman. Few people expected it of him; most just wanted Hillary defeated. But his performance in office bespeaks a strength of character all unlooked for in him but not without precedent. His performance in this crisis cannot be judged yet. What if Lincoln were judged after the Seven Days and SecondBull Run? What if FDR had been judged after the fall of the Philippines? His tenure so far suggests many of the traits which one would look for in a good commander.


    As for his moral and draft reputation: in having gone to the wall for Slick Willy, the left forfeits all moral authority to express such doubt in a creditable and consistent manner.

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  14. Dr. Waddy et al: Yet also to consider: wealthy Donald trump need not have entered the crucible of the last three years. A crucible tempers and proves metal (mettle?).

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    1. Jack, you assume that Donald Trump is wealthy. I have no doubt he is a millionaire (after all, his father gave him over $400 million), but I suspect that if we ever saw his real financials -- given how much debt he has accumulated over the years -- that his actual net worth is less than $200 million.

      The man was born on third base and is now back at first.

      Rod

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  15. Rod -- I think it's fairly obvious that the dark cloud of Russiagate hobbled Republicans in 2018, as it was intended to.

    I think your comments re: Fauci and testing may both be out of date. Fauci has made it clear that he and Trump are working together to fight this pandemic, and testing has ramped up hugely in the U.S. in the last week. I don't think anyone denies that it would have been nice to ramp it up sooner.

    Oh sure, there's no chance at all of "judicial activism" in 2020 to cancel or move the election... Our federal judges would never DREAM of imposing their will on the American people. Where have you been for the last 65 years? Ha ha. But I agree with you that any change to the election date is highly unlikely. Normalcy, of some variety, should be restored by November.

    I see Rod and Anonymous are polishing their dueling pistols. I take Rod's side on this one. Name-calling is unproductive and rude. You catch more flies with honey than with grease, am I right?

    Rod -- maybe you can explain the practical difference between Cuomo's leadership and Trump's? Aren't both working to solve the same problems -- and enjoying the limelight as they do so? The issues on which they disagree seem marginal to me.

    I agree with Jack that only time will tell whether Trump leads us successfully out of the mire of corona. Certainly this is a new type of challenge for him, and he's getting up to speed as fast as he can, just like the rest of us. The fact is that most Americans think he's doing well, and as we master the virus that number will likely go up, not down. I know that blackening the name of Trump is the only thing that matters to many lefties, but in carrying on your obsession with Trump hatred in the midst of a national emergency I think your side may finally have overplayed its hand. We shall see.

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    1. Dr. Waddy, if you look at post-election polls from 2018, the two issues that propelled the Dems into winning seats held by the GOP were health care and Kavanaugh. It was suburban women who both turned out in higher numbers and who switched from GOP to Dem that carried the day.

      Yes, there has been judicial activism going on for a while. In fact, Justice Scalia was just such a judicial activist.

      The difference is that conservative justices all promise to go with original intent, and adhere to the text of the Constitution. To allow the postponement of the election would be the height of hypocrisy for the conservative justices.

      The difference between Cuomo and Trump? For one thing, Cuomo has actually taken the crisis seriously from the beginning. Second, he conveys both honesty and hope. Trump wouldn't know honesty if it bit him in the butt. Third, Cuomo relies on advice from his public health officials. "Stable genius" Trump goes wherever Fox News tells him to go. Finally, Cuomo doesn't treat his press conferences as a campaign rally, and a place to go bashing the media.

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  16. Dr. Waddy and Rod: Wouldn't delaying the election raise the possibility of Kevin McCarthy or (heaven forfend) Nancy Pelosi succeeding to the Presidency? Trump and Pence's first term ends at any rate on January 20, doesn't it? We did weather what amounted to a one month delay in the 2000 election though. I dunno.

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  17. Rod, you're right that many of the Dems who won House seats in 2018 did so by moving to the center and talking about issues like health care. Nevertheless, I say that the constant attacks on Trump, including disingenuous attacks on his non-existent ties to Russia, played their part in depressing GOP turnout and energizing Democrats. There's one way to be sure: now that the Russia business and impeachment is behind us, let's cancel the 2018 election and re-run all those races... Hey, what have you got to lose? ;)

    I posted an article today that indicates that Cuomo and DeBlasio both share some of the blame for getting us into this mess. Cuomo "took it all seriously from the beginning", did he? He spent most of January and February boasting about how open NY was to visitors from everywhere, including China. Draw your own conclusions.

    Jack, I don't think there are any set rules for delaying a federal election, unless Congress has at some point passed some, but in any case, in an emergency, all bets are off. People do whatever they like, whether or not they have the legal authority. Can Andrew Cuomo tell me to stop playing tennis? Legally, perhaps not, but he did it anyway. Again, though, I don't think we need to worry much about a delay in November.

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