Nationalist Fallacy

Definitions from list of terms in my book:
The Basic Constitution: An Examination
of the Principles and Philosophies
of the United States Constitution:

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host
The liberal left statist progressive utopianist socialist commies of the Democrat Party love using language, and more specifically, butchered language, to achieve their dastardly deeds.  The word "liberal" used to mean "Jeffersonian," and by using "progressive" they are insinuating they are the only people interested in "progress" and that their kind of change is "progressive", when in reality it is "regressive."  Despite the fact that the Democrats are the party of slavery, the creators of the KKK, the party that established Jim Crow laws, voted against the Reconstruction Amendments, against the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1964, support abortion of which targets the black community and was first inspired by racist Margaret Sanger who created Planned Parenthood with the goal of eliminating "human weeds" (who is also Hillary Clinton's hero), and the party of whom continues to perpetuate the plantation - but, through political means, pushing dependency upon government rather than dependency upon the slaveholder.

The Democrats have done the same thing with the word "Nationalist" and "Nationalism," and to my horror, conservatives have adopted the word, claiming it is a way to combat the Democrats.  The problem is, both sides are playing with a definition without truly knowing what it is.

A Nationalist is one who pushes for national unity through big government.  Is that what conservatives consider themselves to be?

Of course, not.

NAZI stood for the National Socialist German Worker's Party.  For the purpose of their argument, the eyes of the Democrats have glazed over the word "Socialist" and have keyed on the fact that the NAZIs were Nationalists.  The insinuation then follows that if you are a person who wants to put your country first, that makes you a Nationalist, and if you are a Nationalist you are no different than a NAZI, which also makes you a racist.  Therefore, from the point of view of the Democrats, if you are a "Nationalist", you are automatically a NAZI, fascist, and racist.

That's like saying that since most criminals in prison don't like broccoli, if you don't like broccoli you must be a criminal.  The conservatives making that argument have a good point in their argument, but that still does not make me want to embrace the term "Nationalism."

First of all, the NAZI and fascist accusations are not only ridiculous, they are politically false.  NAZIs weren't necessarily fascists, though they were called that because of NAZI Germany's close connection with Italy.  The Germans were socialists, but considered themselves to be different from the communists, even though the two ideologies were very similar.  Mussolini was a fascist.  Fascism is just another form of socialism, however.  So even the fascists were not necessarily anti-communist as they claimed.  They simply sought the utopia that communism was seeking in a different manner.  The fascists believed that Marx's revolution had failed, so they tweaked the method and were ready to try again.

Under socialism/communism the government takes ownership of the means of production, allegedly in the name of the people, until the selfish sin of profit is shed by the people and they learn to live in utopian harmony.  Then, government is supposed to fade away, leaving the means of production in the hands of the workers, with no bourgeoisie remaining to exploit the workers for their own profit.

Under fascism, instead of the government controlling the means of production by taking over ownership of the means of production, the means of production remains in the hands of the private sector, but the government controls the means of production through heavy regulation.  This is done until the selfish sin of profit is shed by the private sector, and the workers are treated as equals, and they all learn to live in utopian harmony.  Then, government is supposed to fade away, leaving the means of production in the hands of the workers, with no bourgeoisie remaining to exploit the workers for their own profit.

In both cases the government used violence and fear to put their ideology in place.  Street riots and the silencing of all opposition was put into full force.

With just that short study of history, it is already apparent that the Trump Train does not fall under that category.  In fact, the supporters of the Democrat Party are closer to the fascist and socialist descriptions - with the thuggishness of Black Lives Matter, La Raza and Antifa fueling the drive to eliminate the alleged bourgeoisie.

As for the Nationalist label (and sometimes "White Nationalist" label), this is not something conservatives should be embracing.  While I agree that wanting to put America First is not necessarily a sign of protectionism, socialism, fascism, or racism, putting America First is not necessarily exactly in tune with the historical definition of nationalism, either.

One may consider the important distinction between a nationalist, and a patriot. Patriotism is the wholesome, constructive love of one’s land and people. Nationalism is the unhealthy love of one’s government, accompanied by the aggressive desire to build a centralized governmental system to a point that it is above all else, and becomes the ultimate provider for the public good. In short, Patriotism is love of country, Nationalism is love of government.

The frame of reference of the Founding Fathers was the British Empire. In their independence, the patriots of America desired to be as nothing like the tyranny they had won their independence from as possible. The Founding Fathers, based on their own experiences, the experiences of the colonists before them, and the realities of history, determined that freedom for individuals was best served when the governmental system was limited by the chains of a constitution. Nationalists believe that government should have the authority to enact any act of government for the purpose of forceful benevolence. But if an individual is being forced, how is it benevolent?

In the American system, the States hold original authority. All powers originally belonged to the States, and only the authorities necessary for the protection, preservation, and promotion of the union were granted to the federal government by the States. “Big Government” is when the central government expands beyond the authorities granted to it. This kind of governmental expansion is normally an attempt to transform the central government into a more nationalist system. The danger of nationalism is one of the reasons the Founding Fathers created a “federal” government, rather than a “national” government.

Thomas Jefferson, while envisioning the expansion of the territories and States under the name "United States of America", foresaw the republic's future as being very different. Rather than "nationalism," he embraced the concept of republicanism. Under republicanism, while the expansion of the United States may still occur, patriots like Jefferson envisioned that growth being through territories and countries voluntarily applying to become States in the United States (if it had not been for the Missouri Compromise, based on their requests for joining the United States, much of northern Mexico, Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula would be States in the U.S.).

The advent of fascism, and more specifically, Hitler's Nazism, which led to the Second World War, added racist and socialist components to the original definition of nationalism. The definition of nationalism, from the rest of civilization's point of view, came to mean the drive for a "master race" (racism), and "marked by a feeling of superiority over other nations".

Since "marked by a feeling of superiority over other nations" is now considered a fascist definition in the minds of the Marxist Democrats who seek equality at any expense, even if that means equality in misery, Trump's America First message was twisted into being a fascist message.

The liberal left has, since the election of Donald Trump (of whom they now regularly call a nationalist) lumped anything they disagree with into the nationalism pile of soundbites. From their point of view, nationalism is a racist, white supremacist, gun-toting, bible-thumping, segment of society who wants to bring back Jim Crow laws, and are willing to treat the Muslims and Mexicans the same way the Nazis treated the Jews.

Except, their new definition of "if it opposes liberalism it must be nationalist" definition of nationalism is not fully accurate. While some of the more notorious things they claim to be nationalist are actually close to being correct, it's not Republicans who embrace those things. White Nationalism was created by the Democrat Party during the Civil War Era. The KKK was created by the Democrat Party to act as a militant arm of the party to stop blacks and white Republicans from voting in The South during the Reconstruction Period. Jim Crow laws were also a creation of the Democrat Party. As for the strong central government as suggested nationalism means by the Founding Fathers, isn't it the Democrats who constantly seek to expand the powers of the federal government, despite the fact that such expansion is in complete opposition to the United States Constitution?

The claim of racism against the Republicans is nothing new.  It's a worn out argument.  From the Democrat point of view, the racists fled the Democrat Party for the GOP as a part of the Southern Strategy.  It is claimed the Republicans sought the racists to win The South during the Sixties and Seventies.  The problem is, it is simply not true.  The South began voting Republican in the late nineties, and did so not because the racists flipped parties, but because the South was beginning to embrace industry and the free market - which naturally convinces people that the Democrats are the enemy of the free market due to the left's support of heavy regulations and industry killing fees and taxes.  Therefore, once a segment of the population becomes entrepreneurial, it encourages them to move towards the GOP.  Besides, despite all of the arguments, the Democrat Party is still the party of slavery, Jim Crow laws, the KKK, and racism.  Their policies prove it every day.  The idea that there was some kind of racist flip from the Democrats to the Republican Party is laughable.

When it comes to the modern twisted definition of nationalism, the "Bible-Thumping", "gun-toting" part was added because of the liberal left's disdain for God, and their disagreement with enabling a population to arm itself so as to defend against the tyranny the leftists so eagerly desire.

In short, most of what the liberal left Democrats accuse Trump, and his supporters, of being are actually attributes of the Democrat Party, but because they threw "religion" into the mix, they claim his alliance with church leaders just proves he's some kind of fascist nationalist even more so.

During the early years of the United States, the constitutional principles and philosophies that guided this country were very simple. The authorities the federal government have are expressly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, and if the power is not listed, the federal government does not have the power; the federal government was created to handle the external issues, conflicts between the States, or anything that directly influences protecting, promoting, or preserving the union; the States are unique, individual, autonomous entities who handle their own issues and interests within their borders (Tenth Amendment: Since the States have original authority over all issues, if the federal government does not have an authority over an issue, and the issue is not prohibited to the States, the authority over the issue belongs to the States); we do not have three co-equal branches, the Congress is supposed to be the strongest of the three, followed by the President, and the judiciary; separation of church and state does not exist in the Constitution - the politicians prayed, and the pastors preached politics, but both restrained themselves from taking control of the other - the strength of America was in its churches - even Benjamin Franklin understood that "only a virtuous people are capable of freedom".  The States are the parents over the federal government.  The federal government was not established to rule over the country, but to serve the States and We the People.

If we are not a godly country, we are not capable of liberty, or the principles of the U.S. Constitution.

President Donald Trump at the Values Voter Summit, a gathering of Christian conservatives who call for America to return to being a godly nation, and a group who expects our leaders to place God above politically perceived government powers and elite positions, summed it all up nicely at the Christian convention. "We Don't Worship Government, We Worship God."

Nationalists worship government.  Therefore, either Trump is not a nationalist, or he is a very good liar.  That said, historically, it has been the Democrats who have been working feverishly to expand the scope and power of government.  In truth, they are the nationalists.

The Democrat Party owns each and every thing they accuse the Republican Party and Trumplicans of being.  They are projecting who they are.  Conservatives and Republicans should never claim the words "Nationalist" or "Nationalism" because we believe in less government, a Laissez Faire approach that calls for letting things take their own course, for government to not interfere in the basic workings of a free market economy, and we believe in localism (local issues handled by local government, not the federal government). Each and every thing the liberal left Democrats claim are attributes of the GOP are actually their own animal. It is the Progressive Democrats who believe in a stronger central government and the use of authoritarianism.  It is the Progressive Democrat who has been fighting for an increase of central government control over all issues, using government to bring about societal reform, and federal supremacy over the States on all issues.

They are the American version of a socialist, pushing for central government control over the means of production.

It is the Democrats who are actually the purveyors of White Nationalism - which was created by the Democrats during the slave era.

It is the Democrats who are aligned with Antifa, a group that calls themselves anti-fascists, but use fascist methods, and call for a stronger central government - because they are communists.

It is the Democrats who have been aligned with Black Lives Matter, whose foundation can be found in Black Nationalism, a racist and Marxist ideology calling for preferential treatment by the central government of one ethnic group, and an ideology that has been calling for federal supremacy over all issues.

It is the Democrats who have more in common with the Nazis, which is national socialism, calling for stronger central government through fascist and nationalist means.  Hitler's top issues during his campaign for President of Germany were free health care for all and gun control.  Sound familiar?

It is the Democrats who have always defended and promoted communism.  Like John Lennon, the Democrats are in lock-step with the communists with their impossible desire for a utopia where possessions are a thing of the past, where religion is a thing of the past, and where the proletariat rises up as a result of the central government controlling the means of production, and after the central government achieves societal reform, handing the reins over to the worker class.

It is the Democrats who have always been the White Supremacists.  White Supremacy in America was created by Democrats during the era of slavery.  It was the Democrats who called for citizenship to extend to one ethnic group and for that to be controlled by a strong central government.

It is the Democrats who created and funded the KKK (Ku Klux Klan).  The KKK was created by the Democratic Party during the Reconstruction Period to enforce white supremacy rule and to terrorize blacks and white Republicans in order to keep them from voting.  And, even today, the members of the KKK believes in federal supremacy in order to enforce their policies - a concept completely alien to the Republican Platform.

The Democrats, and each of the groups mentioned, believe in bigger government. They all believe in instituting a strong central government in order to achieve their aims. They are all left-wing, and they are all cousins of each other. Conservatism and Constitutional Originalism have nothing in common with those groups.

In short, there is no alt-right, and folks who are right-of-center are not nationalists.  The terminology being used by the Democrat Party are attacks designed to mess with the lexicon so that the Democrats can steer the bloodhounds off of their own racist and Marxist fingerprints on American History.

I cringe when I hear conservatives using the word "nationalism" or "populism" to describe themselves, or the supporters of President Trump.  We need to understand that it is in our best interest to toss those terms aside. Nationalism is a leftist construct that calls for central government control, and populism is pure democracy (mob-rule, which leads to mob-violence) . . . both of which are Democrat Party animals, and both of which do not represent conservatism, nor the original intent of the U.S. Constitution. As Constitutional Conservatives we believe this country is a republic, not a democracy, that government must be restrained to only the authorities granted by the Constitution, and that all men are Created Equal (that means God's definition of equality, not man's. . . man's definition of equality finds its roots in Marxism, and calls for equal misery - which is in complete opposition to equal opportunity, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and a pursuit of wealth in a free market economy that can be achieved based on the level of work and talent).

The claim of "Nationalism" is propaganda.  Nazi-style propaganda carefully crafted to trap us in a box, and diminish our message of liberty and freedom.  We must not assist the liberal left Democrats in their assault by adopting those terms for ourselves.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary