Paul Krugman: When the President Is Un-American

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Paul Krugman: When the President Is Un-American // Economist's View
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2017/08/paul-krugman-when-the-president-is-un-american.html

"we don't need to wonder whether an anti-American cabal ... has seized power in Washington. It has:":

When the President Is Un-American, by Payl Krugman, NY Times: ...what makes America America is that it is built around an idea: the idea that all men are created equal, and are entitled to basic human rights. Take away that idea and we're just a giant version of a two-bit autocracy. ...

Real Americans understand that our nation is built around values, not the "blood and soil" of the marchers' chants; what makes you an American is your attempt to live up to those values, not the place or race your ancestors came from. ...

But the man who began his political ascent by falsely questioning Barack Obama's place of birth — a blood-and-soil argument if ever there was one — clearly cares nothing about the openness and inclusiveness that have always been essential parts of who we are...

Real Americans understand that our nation was born in a rebellion against tyranny. They feel an instinctive aversion to tyrants..., and an underlying sympathy for democratic regimes...

But the present occupant of the White House has made no secret of preferring the company, not of democratic leaders, but of authoritarian rulers...

Real Americans expect public officials to be humbled by the responsibility that comes with the job. They're not supposed to be boastful blowhards ... like Trump...

Real Americans understand that being a powerful public figure means facing criticism... Foreign autocrats may rage against unflattering news reports, threaten to inflict financial harm on publications they dislike, talk about imprisoning journalists; American leaders aren't supposed to sound like that.

Finally, real Americans who manage to achieve high office realize that they are ... meant to use their position for the public good. ... Now we have a leader who is transparently exploiting his office for personal enrichment, in ways that all too obviously amount in practice to influence-buying by domestic malefactors and foreign governments alike.

In short, these days we have a president who is really, truly, deeply un-American, someone who doesn't share the values and ideals that made this country special...., it's remarkable that Trump won't even pretend to be outraged at Putin's meddling with our election. ...

Whatever role foreign influence may have played and may still be playing, however, we don't need to wonder whether an anti-American cabal, hostile to everything we stand for, determined to undermine everything that truly makes this country great, has seized power in Washington. It has: it's called the Trump administration.


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