A Country Besieged

Judged from a national security and economic performance standpoint, the US is doing quite well.  And yet its people are divided and unsure of their future, gripped by a sense of loss or risk of losing of what they hold dear.  More distressingly, though, the object of anxiety is not something all Americans regard as a common good or a central embodiment of their common destiny.  Instead, the object of anxiety is what different groups of Americans consider to be the common good of their respective group, of their tribe.  That’s why we read and hear so much in books, articles and the media that we are in the era of tribalism.

America is a complex country.  It is a non-ethnic country made up of people of different ethnicities, religions and cultures.  The American revolutionaries claimed independence not in the name of an ethnic group or a certain religion.  They claimed it in the name of people that were willing to bond together under a constitution and a justice system in order to live in liberty and pursue happiness.  This must not, however, mask the reality that the dominant early Americans were white western Europeans and protestants.  Nor should we ignore that independence and freedom did not extend to the slaves.

Given human nature, it is not unreasonable to speculate that the public sentiment at the time was that America would remain what it was at its birth: a sovereign country for protestant white western Europeans.  That was the implicit surrogate of a national identity.  It is easy, therefore, to understand the suspicions and pushback against new- comers who did not fit this demographic profile: the Catholics, the Jews, the Eastern European Orthodox immigrants, the Asians, the Latin Americans.  Eventually, the Anglo-Protestant identity was expanded and refashioned as a Judeo-Christian identity, notwithstanding the many Americans this religion-based identity excludes.

For most of its history, the sense that America is a nation of immigrants bonded by laws and a Protestant ethic toward work and enterprising held sway while the country was on an upward trajectory that eventually made it a global economic and military leader.  That was enough to help the system gloss over its internal frictions and discontents.  However, things, both domestically and internationally, have changed and are bound to change even more in the future; hence, the insecurity or more accurately the insecurities.  One or more for each different constituent.

Domestically, less educated as well as rural Americans feel they are looked down by urban elites.  An intersection of white and rural Americans, especially those they call Old or Middle America, feel their culture threatened by the rising population of Latino and Asian Americans and the prospect of more immigrants entering the country from Latin America and Muslim countries.  A similar combination of Americans feel their voting power and control over government institutions are being eroded by the same suspects plus a vague assortment of nefarious internationalists or globalists.  The common grievance of these groups is that “other” Americans or future Americans-to-be are tipping the scales of control and influence in shaping culture and politics at the expense of whites.

Then we have the religion vs secularism division, as Christian religionists (not only Evangelicals) aim at expanding their rights and moral code beyond what secular Americans find acceptable.

Economic insecurities also fuel strong divisions and resentment.  Working class Americans feel left behind as technology and outsourcing takes their jobs away.  Those in the lowest rugs of the economic ladder resent losing jobs or better wages due to the influx of low-skill immigrants.  A cross-section of Americans resent the fact that international trade arrangements and the rise of other economies, most particularly China’s, threaten the economic hegemony of the US.  A similar sense of reduced relative influence in the sphere of global affairs help to arouse sentiments of nationalism.

In summary, different groups of Americans are vying for a national identity that will define them domestically as well as internationally.  The struggle is for “Who are we?” and “What kind of country is America?”

These questions were destined to come to the fore sooner or later whether a politician like Trump had appeared in the scene three years ago or at a later time.  Indeed, Pat Buchanan had campaigned on a basically white western European kind of nationalism in the 1990s but the time was not yet right.  By capturing the mantle of white nationalism and America First, Donald Trump became the catalyst for raising issues of national identity and purpose to the level of public discourse.  Regrettably, though, Trump chose sloganeering over a reasoned debate.

It does not help that the two major parties, as well as Trump himself, have embraced identity politics that make it difficult for either of them to throw a conciliatory bridge to the other groups.  To do so, they fear, will erode their base.  It’s like playing a chicken game, with each party afraid to make the first move.

If the politicians are afraid to take the initiative, is it likely that civic groups and thought leaders will do so?  What if each one of us engages in this endeavor by trying to understand the grievances of the other side?  Unfortunately, the education system has not equipped many Americans with the ability to engage in critical thinking.  Even well-educated Americans are unable or unwilling to get out of their respective echo chambers and listen to the opposing arguments.  John Adams had said that the purpose of education is to prepare people to be citizens of a democratic state.  If by education we also mean life-long learning, we should heed his advice without delay or reservation.

Author: George Papaioannou

Distinguished Professor Emeritus (Finance), Hofstra University, USA. Author of Underwriting and the New Issues Market. Former Vice Dean, Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University. Board Director, Jovia Financial Federal Credit Union. View all posts by George Papaioannou