George Will, whose column in the Washington Post offers wise analysis of current events, helped to explain why, when the economy is doing so well, many Americans remain discouraged and resentful of the current government policies. It boils down to: The American people do not like being told what to do.
The United States has led the rest of the world in recovering from the effects of the pandemic, but the measures incentivizing the recovery have been falsely perceived as socialism. True socialism would see the government seizing control of the means of production and distribution, instead of simply providing incentives for private-sector companies to operate in a way that benefits everyone. President Joe Biden Jr.’s policies do not destroy capitalism, but they smooth out the inequity that has allowed a few wealthy people to profit at the expense of the majority.
Ayn Rand’s philosophy was that such incentives destroy innovation, and, indeed, too much regulation can make it more difficult to excel. It is a balancing act, but the Biden administration has done a good — but imperfect — job at maintaining that balance. Still, many Americans, influenced by Ronald Reagan’s declaration that “government is the problem”, believe that Washington should stay out of the picture.
That has led to the wealth disparity that has left most Americans poorer, while enriching those at the top. Still, many people cling to the idea that, by hard work, they, too, can achieve wealth. That has not been happening; but rather than blaming deregulation, they continue calling for even less regulation, and they decry the government’s efforts to restore balance.
An alarming development is conservatives’ embrace of violence to “Make America Great Again” — Donald Trump’s efforts to replace democracy with fascism. Political polls are showing that Republicans are embracing his candidacy over less extreme candidates. What is crazy is that Americans who do not like being told what to do are supporting a man who would become a dictator.
Rather than renounce the serial lawbreaker, Trump supporters have donated $40 million to pay his legal expenses, which are sure to mount in the coming months.
Even more troubling, Trump suggested that the U.S. should “shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs.” Other Republicans have embraced the idea that the U.S. should attack our southern neighbor for not stopping the flow of drugs into the United States. While aimed at the drug cartels, firing missiles into Mexico without that country’s permission would be an act of war, and Mexico’s government has made it clear that it is utterly opposed to any use of the U.S. military to deal with its drug problem. It would certainly promote anti-American nationalism there.
First of all, it would not solve the problem of the demand for drugs in the United States. Mexico has worked with the U.S. in its war on drugs, to little effect. Americans will get drugs, one way or another.
Secondly, it would hurt America’s reputation around the world. How could we continue to stand against Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine if we are conducting our own war of aggression — which certainly would result in “collateral damage”, killing innocent people — in Mexico?
Of course, that would be fine with the Republicans who are opposing our support for Ukraine. In fact, their implicit support for Russia’s aggression makes it easier to justify our own “special military operation” against Mexico.
It used to be the Republicans who stood for democratic values and the rule of law. Now they are willing to forego those ideals to put a madman back into power so Trump can continue his destructive tendencies to solidify his power and bask in the adoration he has come to expect from his loyalists.
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