Over 350,000 people had starved to death in Somalia. Then, “In 1992, President George Bush desired to strengthen the UN peacekeeping capability. President Bush and his administration looked to the UN as a tool to assist the U.S., ‘shape a world consistent with American values and interests.’” Notably, the lame duck, President Bush the Elder, for the first time in history, deployed the U.S. military in support of “American Values.” Notably, Operation Restore Hope was done in coordination with then-President-elect Bill Clinton.
Imagine, just 30 years ago America, on a bipartisan basis, and upholding “American values,” was willing to commit American forces on a massive humanitarian effort to save starving people in Africa. Of course, a President Trump would later identify Somalia (and all of Africa) as a “shithole country.” How America has changed!
During and following World War II, the United States became a leading influence in the world. The first to develop nuclear weapons, we became the most powerful nation on Earth from a military perspective. That capability emerged as a stabilizing force and counterbalance to the Soviet Union and expansion of Communism. The Apollo Lunar exploration program established American technological dominance. Concurrently, our middle class burgeoned forth and based on sound practices the U.S. dollar became the economic standard for global international trade.
That was all accomplished based on values commonly accepted on a national level. In short, we believed, and acted like “the Good Guys.” Maybe we didn’t always get it right, but we did strive in that direction. Over time, many of those attributes eroded, but dropped precipitously with the election of Donald Trump.
Loyalty
Following WWII, loyalty to the country was paramount. Having suffered over 292 thousand American servicemembers killed and another 670 thousand wounded, the nation placed a high value on loyalty to the country and recognized the sacrifices of many families. Until recently, that bond seemed unbreakable as hundreds of thousands of men and women have fought in a number of intervening conflicts.
As Trump decimated the Republican Party loyalty to the country was replaced by fealty to an individual. With their actions today (Thursday 25 Jan) GOP members of Congress have proven they are willing to betray the country, rather than risk being ostracized by Trump and his fatuitous minions. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, at the direction of Trump, Republican lawmakers went back on a deal to mitigate the exigent problems on the southern border.
Immigration will be addressed later, and the issues are complex, thorny, and endemic. Elusive, they have existed without resolution for decades but that is not the critical issue. Tied to that package was aid for the war in Ukraine which poses an existential threat to American forces. There already are reports of Ukrainian forces running short of essential ammunition and DoD stating they are out of funds to assist. The ass-kissing Trump Republicans are willing to risk WWIII just to maintain a campaign issue for their master. It is Trump, and by fiat Putin (by assisting his agenda), that are the winners in this cluster****. Never in the history of the country has loyalty to an individual taken precedence over our national interests-until now. Whether a new deal is formulated or not, what matters is the willingness of these invertebrate sycophants to pay homage to an abhorrent narcissist and dictator-in-waiting. How America has changed.
Honesty
Honesty was believed to be a key American virtue. As children we were taught to be honest in our endeavors. The phrase used was “cheaters never win.” While that was not always true, it was a common objective. That is no longer true. Americans, by the tens of millions embrace dishonesty as a virtue. The Big Lie continues to be spread and polls show that 68 percent of Republicans still believe the election was stolen. That, even though many of them acknowledge there is no evidence to support that position. According to an October 2023 Washington Post article, “About half of Republicans (48%) agree with the need for a leader who is willing to break some rules, compared with four in ten independents (38%) and three in ten Democrats (29%).”
During his time in office The Washington Post recorded 30,573 false or misleading statements by Trump. They continue to this day. The problem is that the many in the MAGA base are willing to accept dishonesty as an enviable attribute. Trump is far from alone in lying to the American public. Lying has become a common feature with Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives. Think of Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Jim Comer, and Elyse Stefanik as prime examples. Of course, there are many others of the same ilk who view dishonesty as a virtue. How America has changed.
Bullies
Following WWII there was a strong value bias against bullies and bullying. There is no doubt about Trump being a bully. In fact, polls shows that bullying is seen by tens of millions of Republican voters as a positive attribute, a sign of strength. Then consider the autocrats that Trump has routinely praised including Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey), Rodrigo Duterte (Philippines) and then Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi (Egypt). Bullies all. Then only a few days ago there was the vociferous endorsement of Hungary’s bully, Victor Orban. Trump hailed Orban as a “great leader” and “strongman” when arguing he needed total immunity. How America has changed.
Self Sacrifice
World War II saw over 12 million Americans in the armed forces. That was about nine percent of the total population of about 131 million. In addition, there were many millions more working in defense related industries. Remember Rosie the Riveter? America was all-in, and most families had relatives either in direct combat or in a supporting role. Being in the military was an honorable thing to do. Then consider Trump’s remarks indicating those who died in defense of freedom were “suckers and losers.”
While the Republicans love to wrap themselves in the flag and claim they love patriots, their hypocrisy is glaring. In fact, Trump is seen literally hugging the flag he so openly denigrates. How any current or former member of the military can support a leader whose values are so contraindicated is beyond comprehension. Therefore, it must be assumed that tens of millions of MAGA voters eschew self-sacrifice as a value as there is nothing in it for them. How America has changed.
Civility
There was a recent time when being civil was the norm. Yes, some people had unseemly outbursts but would quickly be called to account. Name-calling was considered juvenile and not tolerated in adult/polite society. For his MAGA supporters, under Trump, chaos and confusion are acceptable norms. Far worse, tens of millions of his supporters actually appreciate such disgraceful qualities.
They also condone Trump’s petulant behavior and juvenile tantrums accentuated with incessant name-calling. It is as if they were in a second or third grade schoolyard confrontation. Yet that is behavior MAGA supporters deem consistent with a Presidential candidate; one they chose to vote for. Just ask “Birdbrain” Nikki Haley. Even more amazing is how quickly those he vociferously denigrates, revert to amoebic sycophants, kiss his ass, and lavish unworthy praise on him. Right Meatball DeSanctimonius, Little Marco, or Lyin’ Ted? How America has changed.
Crime and Criminality
There was a time in recent history when committing crimes was considered to be a bad thing, and certainly inconsistent with holding office. Now, MAGA voters embrace crime and criminals. Disregarding facts and reality, often they attack agencies bringing charges against their perceived savior as being part of some deep-state conspiracy. They remain oblivious to the fact that Trump was, is and always will be a con artist. Worse, he is an adjudicated sex offender, and under felony indictment in multiple jurisdictions. While several trials are still pending, there is no doubt about his guilt on several of the charges. Even with that knowledge tens of millions of voters still support their Orange Messiah.
Possibly worse, encouraged by their leaders, these MAGA cretins attack innocent people who were just doing their jobs, often deemed part of their civic responsibilities. There was the plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Receiving thousands of threats, judges have been put at risk, And consider the case of election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who had to go into hiding because of Rudy Guiliani’s false accusations. Far from an isolated case, because of threats of violence, there is now a shortage of election workers. There was a time when we valued those who chose to serve the community. That time has passed. How America has changed.
This was added in response to a comment from a friend. For Colorado Republicans, committing crimes and being arrested is considered a badge of honor. Watch the clip, especially how it ends. Obviously, Colorado Republicans embrace crime as a virtue.
Fairness, Kindness and Compassion
Americans used to value a sense of fairness. Despite a distinct penchant for violence, Americans tend to view themselves as generally kind people and compassionate. The reality is considerably different and generally varies along Party lines and governance. One “Third Rail” has been Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These are highly popular programs that do have long-term economic issues. Viewed as Entitlement Programs, “conservatives” see them as handouts and thus often at risk to GOP legislators.
America is the only developed nation that does not have universal health care. The US ranks last in health care compared to other rich countries. Under President Obama, the Affordable Care Act was enacted. Almost immediately Republicans attempted to repeal it. That continued multiple times, even though the ACA was quite popular. Trump ran on the promise to repeal and replace it. They tried the repeal part, but never even offered a solution. While Americans pay more per person, our health care system ranks last of high-income nations.
Immigration is a current hot-button issue. The reality is that almost everyone is trying to pull the ladder up behind them. Only just over two percent of the population is Native American. Therefore, the rest of us in the 98% are immigrants one status or another. The bias against immigrants is epidemic and an issue that requires comprehensive legislation. A whole proposal for comprehensive immigration reform was put forth early in the Biden Administration and has not moved forward. Notably the Republicans are blocking such legislation as Trump wants to campaign on that issue.
Similarly, feeding hungry kids is not a priority for Republicans. Until recently there was a food program that provided lunches for all students. That has been cut and is unlikely to be replaced. The issues continue but it's hard to conceive that as a nation we value compassion. How the nation has changed!
Some do hold Traditional American values
To be clear, there are still many Americans who support traditional values. Some of them will take issue with my assessment. To them I say, remember, because of our system of the electoral college, Trump was elected to office in 2016. While losing the popular vote by three million, he still had over 64 million people vote for him. At that juncture, Trump was largely unknown to many Americans except as a television personality, falsely portrayed as a highly successful businessman (one with six bankruptcies). After his temperamental displays in office, in 2020 he garnered over 73 million votes, an increase of about nine million. That should scare rational people but is certainly indicative that for tens of millions of people, American Values have changed significantly.
Education
Notably, there is a strong correlation between education and voting. In general, the more educated the voters, the more they are likely to cast ballots along the lines of traditional American values. Unfortunately, many Americans do not really value education. That is one of the reasons that we have been falling behind most other developed nations. The GOP has chosen to wage all-out war on the American educational system. As policy they repeatedly have threatened to eliminate the Department of Education. The issues are too lengthy and complex to fully address at this juncture. However, unless there is a significant change, we are certainly likely to fall further and further behind cultures who do place a high value on education, particularly those in Asia.
American Values have changed. Now, there is a strong possibility the Americans could vote the nation out of existence.