Here’s how Stoermer describes Liberal Nationalism and the role it plays in american politics:
There’s a belief system that combines two things — first, that change must happen through official channels (voting, courts, proper debate), and second, that this procedural faith is wrapped in American exceptionalism. The system isn’t just legitimate. It is sacred because America itself is exceptional.
Now here’s where it gets complicated. Klein says the project is “the American experiment.” Newsom builds on that. Kirk said the same things, but meant something completely different. Kirk’s American experiment would destroy Klein’s and Newsom’s — he wanted to dismantle multiracial democracy, restrict voting, and return to what he called the real Founders’ vision. That would end everything Klein and Newsom claim to value.
Yet Klein’s nationalism enables Kirk’s. By treating Kirk’s anti-democratic project as legitimate discourse within the American experiment, by claiming they share common ground, Klein validates extremism as just another voice in the great American conversation.
And I keep wondering: Does the white Christian nationalist movement understand something about liberal nationalism that we don’t? Do they realize that as long as they frame their goals in terms of the Constitution, the Founders, and the American experiment, individuals like Klein will always find common ground with them?
I found other notable liberal figures saying similar things while perusing twitter. Notably senator John Fetterman recently insisted that americans (sorry, I refuse to capitalize demonyms. Sue me) should stop calling Trump an autocrat and pleaded for toning down the anti-Trump rhetoric. To me this attitude plays right into MAGA’s hands. This is the kind of stuff that whitewashes bigotry and helps reactionaries move the Overton window further right.
I would venture that in a similar situation, on this side of the pond we would be out on the streets, striking the economy to a screeching halt. But in the US, there seems to be this nationalist bootlicking mentality that prevents people from even considering direct action, simply because they believe the system will somehow fix itself and everything will be honky dory in the end.
I can’t help but think the US of A was never truly the haven of freedom we were told it was. And as much as I appreciate the comparably stronger fighting spirit of the working class here, I’m not sure it will be enough to resist the rise of the far right here in Europe either, propped up by the ever influential american politics. I’m a pessimist, so please give me hope, or don’t. Thoughts, please?
Not sure what your point is? You want to justify your lifestyle as MAGA healthy?
What’s your point?
Fuck off retard, let the adults speak
You mean let the ones speak who support your twisted narrative and the ones opposed shut up?
Congratulations!
I’m not completely clear on Stoermer’s thesis. I’m not clear on the meaning of “liberal nationalism”.
In my experience, appeals to American Exceptionalism are usually from the political right, not the left.
A large difference here is that a president is elected for 4 years. There isn’t a lot we can do about it until the 4 years are up. That’s very different from a parliamentary system, where the prime minister can be forced out even before there is a new election.
dazz:
Yeah, Fetterman is a huge disappointment. I don’t know how much of it is related to his stroke, but reports are that he behaves erratically and isn’t the same person he was before he was stricken.
There are always people who are too quick to label and end up exaggerating, but that isn’t true in the case of Trump’s critics. He truly is a wannabe autocrat. I’ve posted this video before:
TRUMP CAUGHT ON CAMERA: says he wants “his people” to obey him like in North Korea
Then there was his weird and creepy “Long live the king” statement. He self-identifies as a wannabe autocrat and he acts like one. Anyone who doesn’t take that seriously is making a big mistake. Trump thinks out loud, and some of the thoughts that we all hoped were just thoughts have unfortunately come true.
Let’s call a spade a spade, and an autocrat an autocrat.
I seem to remember you don’t like to watch videos, but this is a short one, please give it a go. There’s also a pretty comprehensive writeup in the video description if you want to check it out.
To the best of my knowledge, Stoermer’s point is that liberals have historically resisted necessary changes in the US for fear that that would piss off people on the right, prioritizing the fictional common conception of what it means to be american based on fundational myths. IOW, tolerating intolerance for the sake of unity. Until shit hits the fan, and then the price to pay for that is way bigger than it would have been otherwise
Of course Trump is an autocrat, but I’m more interested in discussing why there seems to be no resistance from the liberals in the US to the brazen betrayal by the right, of those supposedly sacred american values that are assumed to keep the nation united.
You know, the motto “when they go low, we go high” doesn’t seem to be working great, does it? I think the main issue is that there’s no true left wing in America willing or capable of pushing back against the rising fascist movement there
I did watch it (before posting my earlier response).
I’m not sure what he is referring to there. The Democrats aren’t all liberals. Some Democrats are pretty conservative. And they cannot just wave a magic wand and make changes. When they have won in recent years, it has been with a very thin majority and with some conservative Democrats unwilling to vote for their agenda.
Neil Rickert,
To me that sounds exactly like the attitude that Stoermer describes in his video, something like: “what else can we do other than trusting the system?” all the while the (far) right is blowing up the system from within.
I don’t know, Neil, if you have watched the video and you still don’t know what he’s talking about, maybe I made it all up or something.
I’m not saying that you made it up. But I have no idea what he thinks the Democrats could have done to change things.
I can’t speak for him, but I don’t think this is about liberals or democrats, or maybe it is, I don’t know. As I said in my OP, I think the problem is that there never was a true left wing movement in the US to push back against social injustice.So the problem metastasizes until there’s nothing anybody can do
dazz:
I worry about that too, but there are some hopeful signs. Trump’s approval rating is in the toilet. The No Kings protests drew some five million protesters. Governor Newsom in my state of California has a measure on the ballot that would authorize mid-cycle redistricting to offset the sleazy move by Republicans in Texas to steal House seats. The Democratic governors of Illinois, New York, and Maryland are working toward that, also. In Congressional hearings, Democrats are going after Trump administration officials with an intensity I have never seen against any administration.
I also think that this is a critical mass situation, where the resistance will snowball at some point when enough people are on board. The crazy shit that Trump is doing is pushing us toward that point. Let’s just hope that we reach it before democracy dies completely.