How Far We Have Fallen

[damnedifIknow]

Donald Trump's candidacy shows how ignorant and illiterate the American political system has become.

It has been a long and sad evolution. Once upon a time, especially in the earliest days of our republic, presidents were at least presumptively learned. Arguably, Thomas Jefferson, who had based his Declaration of Independence on a genuinely intimate familiarity with Locke, Vattel, Hobbes, Grotius, Rousseau and Montesquieu, was the most learned of all.

One of the announced candidates, Donald Trump, even takes an evident pride in his deep historical illiteracy. After all, Trump chastises us daily, he is very rich, and knows how to make enviably lucrative deals in real estate.

That should be evidence enough. Nothing else needs to be asked, we are warned. After all, no billionaire could be a buffoon. And any billionaire will viscerally understand world politics. So: Just shut up and sit down.

[SEE: Editorial Cartoons on the 2016 Presidential Elections]

Why do we accept this crude and injurious public behavior? Why do we now expect so very little from a major presidential aspirant? How have we managed to stray so completely from maintaining even embarrassingly low intellectual standards for our presidential candidates?

*In our sullied national politics of abundantly veneered résumés and blatant half-truths, whenever a popular candidate's spoken words seethe with an evident worthlessness, the crowd rushes to applaud. Mixing desperation with a self-imposed absence of memory, it generally nods approvingly, en masse, and then, after indelicately consuming even more chili, more hot dogs, and more chicken wings, solemnly swears to celebrate American exceptionalism. A bit later, in what would seem a largely involuntary obeisance to contemporary America's most deeply-rooted political beliefs, the people begin to anesthetize themselves yet again, ingloriously, this time with huge mountains of drugs, and with vast oceans of alcohol.

Is this any way to choose an American president? Is this a suitable American electorate from which to draw upon? Once upon a time, Jefferson had argued that democracy must rest upon a informed and responsible citizenry. Shall we now simply discount such clear advice altogether?

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2015/09/14/from-thomas-jefferson-to-donald-trump-how-far-we-have-fallen?int=a39d09&int=a60d09

[Fred Sanders]

1. Why did America stray from it's founding principles?

"Why do we accept this crude and injurious public behavior? Why do we now expect so very little from a major presidential aspirant? How have we managed to stray so completely from maintaining even embarrassingly low intellectual standards for our presidential candidates?"

Because America strayed from it's founding principles when the only business given protection in the Constitution abandoned it's quid pro quo promise to guard America from the fascists and zealots and liars and conmen and did so by simply and systematically abandoning all pretence of valuing truth.


As famously said by journalist A. J. Liebling, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." The individuals, businesses, and organizations that own a means of publication are able to publish information and opinions without government interference, and cannot be compelled by the government to publish information and opinions that they disagree with. For example, the owner of a printing press cannot be required to print advertisements for a political opponent, even if the printer normally accepts commercial printing jobs.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_press_in_the_United_States

[rhett o rick]

7. It's all about the accumulation of wealth. Some here favor Clinton IMO because they

see her as successful for accumulating wealth. Wealth is the new Golden Calf. I'd be curious as to what her main goal in life is.

[RKP5637]

9. Well said! Valuing wealth as the yardstick of success and qualifications will further erode the US.

And now added to that is who is the best reality show character in the line up of presidential contenders. The entire episode is like a SNL skit.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

10. ^^^^^THIS X 1,000 ^^^^^

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. It started after WWII when America decided it was going to promote Capitalism....

Turns out that doing so means we were promoting greed and it turns out that's not a virtue after all.

[Fred Sanders]

25. America never promoted capitalism, it imposed it with it's brand new huge and hardened military.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

31. We installed a LOT of Right Wing dictators in Central and South America....

That's why it's STILL the policy of many agencies to consider the political left to be the enemy.

I still believe 68 was an example of CIA domestic intervention.

[SheilaT]

2. A number of threads in our culture come together here.

One is the long history of anti-intellectualism.

Another is that much of our mass media either celebrates ignorance, or at least does not find intelligence and adherence to facts to be at all laudable. And a lot of people really think that if they see it on TV or in a movie, it must be true.

Much of higher education in this country is essentially advanced job training of some sort, and the notion that the study of ideas is worthy has almost completely disappeared. There are a few rare schools that still do this. St John's College, with campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe, is the most shining example.

[Surya Gayatri]

8. ^^^This!^^^

"Much of higher education in this country is essentially advanced job training of some sort, and the notion that the study of ideas is worthy has almost completely disappeared."

In this respect, US educational policy compares poorly with European education sytems, i.e. the French "lycée" and the German "Gymnasium", where graduates are still required to study and pass final exams in classical philosophical thought.

[RKP5637]

11. Exceptionally well said! n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. My high school used to have a massive copper domed observatory on the roof....

Now schools are considered to be free daycare till the folks get off work.

[deutsey]

28. Could not agree with you more

[DCBob]

3. Very disturbing.

If trump somehow manages to win he will be our first real dictator.

[damnedifIknow]

4. Armed with tools such as the patriot act

Then it would be time for a one way ticket to anywhere.

[RKP5637]

12. It will be a horrible fork in the road for the US as it descends into a dictatorship and many in

the masses will willingly accept a dictatorship feeling they are on the cutting edge of becoming multimillionaires. Stupid Americans are so easy to lead since they exist in their world of delusions looking to be fed the right BS.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. We are the same people who elected Reagan twice...

and doubled down on the Bush spawn.

We mumble on about character, intelligence, learning, ability, but what we want, just as our cave-dwelling ancestors wanted, is strong leadership. Where that leadership takes us is secondary.

This is a human attitude, and explains support for Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Margaret Thatcher, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and so many others.

Perhaps we will evolve from this before we destroy ourselves, but I doubt it.

[Skittles]

13. I do not see Trump as a strong leader

he is a buffoon

[TreasonousBastard]

15. I agree. He's not strong-- he's a loudmouth bullshitter...

with nothing behind it.

But he doesn't back down, and that's what the great unwashed likes about him.

It "looks" like strength, and that's good enough.

[Surya Gayatri]

17. A master manipulator blowing smoke in a media house of mirrors.

Frightening and dismaying.

[RKP5637]

14. Same here!!!

"Perhaps we will evolve from this before we destroy ourselves, but I doubt it."

[Avalux]

6. What do we expect in the land of reality tv?

People spend their lives sitting in front of the tv every night, turning idiots into celebrities; idolizing dysfunction. It makes sense that Trump is doing so well.

[Blus4u]

16. Quite frankly,

I do not consider myself part of the "WE" we keep referring to in the posts above!

That is all, oh, and

Peace

[Katashi_itto]

18. He is the President this country deserves.

Likely our last one.

[zeemike]

19. Stupidity and ignorance plays a part in it

But that is not the only thing at work here.
Discontentment with the status quo is also a factor and when the right is offered more of the same they, like we, chose the outsider no matter how inept he might be. The only choice they have is to shake things up.

Where we have the advantage is our outsider is not inept or a nut case...and that will win.

[lastlib]

20. "Why do we accept this crude and injurious public behavior?"

Why do we now expect so very little from a major presidential aspirant?

Because, since Ronald Reagan ran in 1980, that is what we have been given. A big "STFU, just elect us, and we'll give us what we want. Nothing to see here, just pay attention to your Kardashians and the other shiny little playthings we've given you....." That's it. We've been fed that diet of pablum for so long, we've forgotten that there is something else.

[deutsey]

29. And any time people do remember and try to do something

they're smeared by enemies on the outside and betrayed by "allies" from within.

[Rex]

23. It was only a matter of time before the Clown Car found their Clown Prince.

Chump can buy what he wants and that bothers the GOP to no end. He won't shut up and insults people as fast as he can meet them. Jeb is more like the court jester in all this. America loves Reality TV and their new Clown Prince!

[MoveIt]

24. Bullshit

how many actual people support this piece of shit kabuki theater finger puppet?

[yuiyoshida]

26. I know how I felt when Bush won the second Election

and It was very bad. But, omg...President Donald Trump would be an unmitigated disaster the likes this Country has ever seen..and likely might keep the Presidency long after four years... the Republicans would want a KING, a Dictator for life, and Trump's ego is big enough, to accept those terms..as He would destroy what's left of what we all hold dear. In fact, we might even have a Corpocracy run by a Conglomerate of Corporations, all dictating to us, our rights (Which are none.) and so the Constitution and the Bill of Rights will disappear, as everything we hold dear goes down the tubes. I could see that happening.

[damnedifIknow]

30. Bush was an epic disaster for this country

Imo Trump would trump that.

[pampango]

27. Mother Jones: (He's not the first 'Trump'.) The 5 Times America Elected Donald Trump

If you can't believe that Donald Trump is still the GOP front-runner, then consider this: America has elected the likes of The Donald before. There are, deep in our history, plenty of men who brazenly exploited nativist sentiments to win the White House or strengthen their grip on the office. Here are five US presidents who, if they lived today, might, in Trump's words, "make America great again."

Theodore Roosevelt

Nativists weren't always the kind of people who attended tea party rallies and watched Fox News. In the early 1900s, some of the strongest opposition to immigration came from the labor unions that helped usher Theodore Roosevelt into the White House. In his first Congressional address, Roosevelt called for requiring immigrants to meet a "certain standard of economic fitness" and pass a literacy test—a measure that would effectively exclude many Southern and Eastern Europeans. After meeting stiff congressional resistance, Roosevelt brokered a compromise that established an immigrant head tax of $4 and created the Dillingham Commission, an investigative panel stacked with nativist legislators. Its reports accused Southern and Eastern European immigrants of displacing native workers, living in crowded and unclean housing, and performing poorly in school. Unlike Trump, however, Roosevelt never signed a GOP loyalty pledge. Instead, he left the Republican Party in 1912 and formed his own.

Warren Harding

Before "Make America Great Again," there was "America First!"—the slogan that in 1920 swept Harding and his fellow Republicans to power on a platform of curtailing a tide of immigrants from politically unstable parts of Europe. Harding signed the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921, effectively cutting in half the number of immigrants admitted into the United States. The act also favored immigrant groups from Northern European countries while steeply limiting immigration from other parts of the world. "I don't know much about Americanism," Harding later said, "but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election."

Herbert Hoover

Hoover proved that rich guys with no experience in elected office can become president and that America can be for Americans. At the dawn of the Great Depression, he issued an executive order calling for the "strict enforcement" of a clause of the Immigration Act that barred the admission of immigrants who were "likely to become a public charge." Turning away virtually all working-class immigrants, his administration slashed legal immigration from 242,000 people in 1931 to 36,000 the following year. And Hoover stepped up raids on the homes and workplaces of undocumented immigrants, causing more than 121,000 people, most of them from Mexico, to leave the United States. Hoover touted his record on immigration during the 1932 election, but it ultimately wasn't enough to keep him from getting thrown out of office by a bunch of LOSERS who had been FIRED.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/5-times-america-elected-donald-trump

he other two presidents mentioned were John Adams and Woodrow Wilson.