I’ll admit it. I’m an America First sort of guy. Who among us isn’t, right? I’ve never heard anybody go around saying they were “Belgium First!” or “Ecuador First!” unless, of course, they are tourists from Belgium or Ecuador.
But America isn’t always first. Take soccer, for example. We are nowhere near first. Before this year’s World Cup, if someone had said “American Third!” we wouldn’t have been insulted. We would have considered it a pretty optimistic statement (and be wrong, as it turned out).
America First should go without saying in our country. Who doesn’t root, root, root for the home team?
In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned on putting “America First” and referenced it twice in his inaugural address. It has been a rallying cry for conservative, populist Republicans ever since.
On the surface, for the reasons I’ve stated, it’s harmless enough.
But the phrase should give pause to anyone with an understanding of its origins and what it has consistently represented as far back as the 19th Century. It is an idea that keeps emerging time and again and always, always, always meaning something far more sinister and less innocent than it appears to be. It is not an expression of pride in our country and a wish for its success.
It is, in fact, a dog whistle to those who embrace racism, isolationism, nativism, xenophobia, white supremacy and authoritarianism.
The problem with dog whistles is that you have to be in range to hear them and too many Americans know too little of the history and obvious subtext to the phrase to be appalled by it.
It is a slogan tainted by ugly history. Any decent person who has bothered to learn that history would take pains not to be associated with it.
Here in the 21st Century, we live in a global world. We are all interconnected and rely on each other, often in very basic ways. That isn’t going to change. Not ever. It’s the world we live in.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with competition. Americans, naturally, would prefer that a new factory be built here in the U.S., than say, Germany. Germans naturally prefer the factory to be built in Germany.
In this global world we live in, we cannot expect the rest of the world to agree to deals that put America first and their own countries somewhere further down the list.
Think about it for a moment. If your neighbor has something you need and you want to buy it, you don’t start the negotiation by saying, “I will only accept a deal that benefits me more than it does you.” That neighbor would likely tell you to go pound sand.
No, what you would hope to do is agree on something mutually beneficial. That’s how adults are expected to operate.
It seems to me America First, whether it’s used as a subtext for bigotry or an over-heated argument for conquest, is more accurately described as America Worst.
There are, after all, 195 nations and the citizens of every one of them root for the home team.
But there is only one Earth, shared by all. Far better to promote collaboration and cooperation than insist those other 194 other countries subjugate their own interests for what benefits America.
We would do well to reject this flawed philosophy.
America First movements always end badly. Every single time. History shows no exceptions.
We are foolish to believe this America First movement will fare any differently.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.