The Burning Platform:
Not that I remember what America was like in 1957, as I was not yet five years old. Years later, when I was old enough to understand, they told me their story. Briefly, it goes like this.
Dad was born in Romania (Czernowitz in Northern Bulovina), but he identified (haha) as German because, well, his dad was German, his mom was German, they spoke German and kept German customs, and lived in a German community so, applying the “quacking duck” theory, that’s what he was. Mom was born in Yugoslavia (now, Slovenia), but she identified as German for the same reasons as dad did. The Nazi regime would refer to folks such as my parents as “Volksdeutsche” —- being German as a people or race, regardless of citizenship.
When dad was about seventeen the Deutsche Wehrmacht (army) made a pit stop in his neck of the woods, and forcibly yanked his ass off the farm, and within a few weeks turned him into a bonafide Mortarman (dudes who launch grenades). He might have destroyed or damaged a Russkie tank or two, but was eventually captured by the Russians, and spent the rest of the war, and some time thereafter, in one of their luxurious prison camps. When mom was a pre-teen the Russian army made a pit stop in her neck of the woods, killed most of her family, but spared her life and put her to work as a slave laborer and sex-toy (cuz she was very pretty), in one of their gulags.
Obviously they both survived this ordeal (otherwise I probably wouldn’t be writing this). However, after the war ended, neither parent was allowed back to their ancestral homes. In order to keep Germans from becoming a “problem” again, Eastern Europe (with approval of all the Western powers) decided to enact a program of ethnic cleansing by expelling as many as 14 million Germans. This German Diaspora comprised the largest migration of any European people in modern history. More here. Many died, estimates range from 500,000 to 2,000,000. My parents survived that as well, obviously.
They arrived as Flüchtlinge (refugees) in an Austrian camp for such people … two Germans as refugees in a German country, how weird is that … found each other, did the nasty posthaste, and produced me, at the time a bastard child mostly unwelcome anywhere. (I’m just glad my dad wasn’t some anonymous Russian soldier!). They gave it their best shot living this way. But, even as late as 1957, there wasn’t enough work in Austria. They felt their future would be better elsewhere. So, they came to America … for work.
You do understand the meaning of that last sentence? It means my parents came to America for a selfish reason, asall immigrants do. Sure, the stated reason for most immigrants may be for economic betterment, to escape political repression, or flee religious persecution, and such. But, the ultimate motivating factor is always for the betterment of one’s self, and/or family. In other words, no immigrant has ever arrived at these shores in order to make America great. On the contrary, they came because they believed America was already great, and a land of opportunity.
This quest for “opportunity” is one of the key distinguishing characteristics of the “old world” immigrants. Not all, but a great many of the current horde invading this country come not because America is great and offers opportunities, but because America has become the Land Of Entitlements — a concept unknown to old world immigrants. In fact, my dad needed a “sponsor” to guarantee that my father would have a job the moment he arrived. No job? No skills? Stay home! And don’t even think of gaining entry if you, or your loved ones, have some kind of disease. There were zero social backstops. No food-stamps. No free medical visits. No free transportation. No free-housing via Section 8, or some other thieving giveaway.
And to be honest, those folks back then wouldn’t accept free shit if you handed it to them on a silver platter. For the first couple months in this country my parents lived in an abandoned apartment building in NYC without even running water. Jack, my dad’s employer, offered to let us live in a spare room in his house until dad could get on his feet. Dad refused, saying he came to this country to work, and not to receive charity. Compare that mentality to the current free-loaders who demand “their rights” the moment they set foot here … for example, people who get social-security (and loads of other freebies) without ever having paid even a thin dime into the system. This is criminal in the sense that it is literally theft from the people who are forced to pay for all this ”free” stuff. These people should be ashamed, but they know no shame. Rather, they will shout you down as a racist and bigot for even suggesting the hideous Biblical concept of ‘he who does not work, shall not eat’. It can be argued that immigrants helped build America, or that immigrants are what made us great. But, that was a long time ago, in a different era, under totally different circumstances. Try to remember this; not all immigrants are equal, or beneficial to this country.
Part of Trump’s plan to make America great again is to build a yuuge wall. That’s a really dumb idea when compared to other alternatives. The best idea is so simple; immediately end all entitlements to people here illegally! I’m fairly certain that act alone will stop the flow almost overnight. Why hasn’t Trump (apparently) not even considered that option? Perhaps because he know that free shit, once given, can never be rescinded? Perhaps because he realizes that those who get free shit are forever beholden to the shit-giver, and therefore they are easily controlled and manipulated …. not to mention a permanent guaranteed voting class? If so, Mr. Trump doesn’t have much chance of making America great again no matter how high he builds his wall.
Or, how about this? A tit-for-tat immigration policy; enact immigration laws identical to that of Mexico.
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What is the meaning of “Make America Great Again!” except that it is both an admission of America in decline, and a boast that only Trump can restore us to our former glory?
On the one hand, many (such as myself) find that to be a refreshing change of pace from the braggadocio propaganda we’ve heard for about the past twenty years … culminating with the biggest (and least successful) braggart of them all, Obama, informing us almost daily that America is an “exceptional” nation, the “indispensable” country, the “sole” superpower of Planet Earth, …. nay, the greatest power ever in human history, to which every other nation on earth aspires to imitate.
“Obama has talked more about American exceptionalism than Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush combined: a search on UC Santa Barbara’s exhaustive presidential records library finds that no president from 1981 to today uttered the phrase ‘American exceptionalism’ except Obama.” ——— John Gans Jr., The Atlantic, 2011
“‘American exceptionalism’ is not a traditional part of presidential vocabulary. According to Schlesinger’s search of public records, Obama is the only president in 82 years to use the term.” ———- Robert Schlesinger, U.S. News and World Report
On the other hand, Trump is the first candidate (at least in modern times) to run openly and without apology on a platform of American decline. Let’s take a quick look at how one President talked about America shortly after we arrived here.
Take a look (or, recall, if you have a good memory) at JFK’s speeches. You simply won’t find them littered with exceptionals, indispensables, and other superlatives … as those words simply weren’t part of the political lexicon back then. American wealth and military might were basically a given, and indisputable. Big dogs simply and quietly go about their business. It’s the small and insignificant Chihuahuas of the world who yap endlessly about their superiority.
In his inaugural address JFK reflected the character of old world immigrants when he urged all of us to not ask what this country can do for us, but what can we do for our country. His only use of “great” was to invoke the USA / Soviet Union blocs as “two great and powerful groups of nations”. In another speech he spoke of America as “a great power” — but not “the greatest power.” In that same speech he said; — “we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient … that we are only six percent of the world’s population … that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind … that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity … and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.” Don’t confuse that “negative” statement with Trump’s assessment of America. JFK’s commentary is one of quiet strength and tremendous wisdom rooted in a deep and abiding confidence of America’s unstated power …. a confidence so unshakeable that there was no need to speak of it.
While Trump speaks openly about America’s decline, Obama and Hillary acknowledge the same sentiment, albeit unknowingly. Decline is evident when one has to say endlessly and openly what once was too obvious to say. In other words, if you have to brag about it, you no longer have it.
For a cultural equivalent, call it the Rambo-ization of America. I absolutely loved “westerns” as a kid. The post WWII movie “heroes” of my youth were folks like John Wayne, Burt Lancaster, Chuck Conners, and then as a teen, Lee Van Cleef and Clint Eastwood. Other than their acting abilities, what was remarkable about them? Well …. nothing, really. They were remarkably ordinary looking, like the guy in your office or next-door neighbor, not overly muscled, not possessing other-worldly fighting skills, and their weapons were basically identical to that of their enemies. But, then came America’s defeat (or, was it a “draw”?) in Vietnam to a bunch of guys dressed in pajamas, with rusty rifles, and living in tunnels. Hollywood helped us cope with our malaise and depression by now giving us outrageousness; outrageous muscles, outrageous weapons, and outrageous killing skills whereby now an Army is no longer needed but, rather, just One Guy defeats the gooks. We like our lies, but we really really love outrageous lies. Eventually, mere humans, no matter how muscled, no longer provided enough titillation to dull our senses. Whereby we once were satisfied that Conan enjoyed crushing his enemies and hearing the lamentations of their women, by 1984 we demanded and cheered a virtually undefeatable cyborg from the future with a German accent uttering amazing philosophical pandering such as, “Fuck you, asshole.” And, what heroes do we have today? Spiderman, Thor, Hulk, Superman, X-Men, Iron Man, Ant Man, Captain America, Batman, ad infinitum. How ironic that in an Age of Science and Technology that we find solace and amusement in heroes who defy all known laws of physics … and, sensible dialogue. It seems that the deeper America sinks into chaos, that the more ridiculously obscene our heroes (and, leaders) become.
