From "Shining City on the Hill" to "Third World Country"

[kentuck]

How far the mighty Republicans have fallen?

Ronald Reagan talked about America as the "shining city on the hill". Donald Trump compares America to a "Third World Country" whose military is in shambles and whose cities are more dangerous than the war zones.

Very few citizens in the world think so negatively of their home country as Donald Trump. He is not a patriot. He does not pay taxes. He sucks all the wealth he can from our rich nation for himself and his family and gives nothing back in return.

Some folks obviously find that admirable. Our nation really sucks, according to Trump and his supporters. We have no jobs. We have no security. We have no education. We are a nation of losers, according to them.

[Trust Buster]

1. Excellent observation.

[Sherman A1]

2. Agreed

he is a leech upon this country and it's tax paying citizens.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. "Trump, You Are No Ronald Reagan"

Worth a revisit:

[Vogon_Glory]

4. I've Felt That The US Has Been Turning From A Shining City On The Hill To A 3rd World Country, BUT

I've had that sinking-gut feeling that the USA has been turning from a shining city on the hill to a third world country, but unlike Donnie, I know d___ well that the root causes of the transformation have been Movement Conservatism, the Republican Party, the organizations that have devised the ideas and strategies to turn the US into a Third World Hell-hole, and the greed-heads and ideologues funding all of it.

The problem is that Donnie's fans are dumb enough to think that immigrants are the cause and symptom when the REAL cause are the people these Trumpkins, Tea-baggers, and Religious Right reactionaries are voting for!

[Stonepounder]

5. I think you nailed the Donald in one of the best sentences about him ever!

You said: "He sucks all the wealth he can from our rich nation for himself and his family and gives nothing back in return."

That just absolutely crystallizes Trumps attitude. He stiffs contractors, underpays workers, pays no taxes, takes advantage of the bankruptcy laws to enrich himself at the expense of his investors - and is proud of himself for doing so. And then has the absolute unmitigated gall to say the he has made 'sacrifices' because of it.

But he is going to 'Make America Great Again'. I guess by using the Presidency to make even more 'sacrifices' to enrich himself and his family at the expense of the entire globe.

[awoke_in_2003]

10. That crystalizes the attitude

of 95% of the wealthy.

[smirkymonkey]

14. +1000

[BumRushDaShow]

6. This was done to blame his fictional view of "America" on a black President and his female SOS. eom

[frogmarch]

7. Maybe Reagan was referring to

Puritan John Winthrop's "shining city upon a hill" (Winthrop took the "city on a hill" idea from the gospel of Matthew):

http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Religion/John%20Winthrop.htm

Excerpt:

American mythology teaches that the early United States was founded by men of conscience who came to the "new world" in order to practice their religious convictions in peace and freedom. John Winthrop (1588–1649), the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in particular has been quoted as a source of inspiration by U.S. presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan.

Yet Winthrop did not represent a tradition of either democracy or religious tolerance. He hated democracy with a passion. The state he created did not hesitate to execute people like the Quakers and even brought to the "new" world the very popular tradition of medieval Europe, the trial and execution of witches.

The quotes from Winthrop below illustrate the troubling nature of Puritan society in Colonial America. John Winthrop's "shining" city had more in common with the various totalitarian utopias in history than with the spirit of the Bill of Rights passed more than 100 years after his death. This a useful fact to keep in mind when considering the various current proposals get "get America back the traditional values of the Puritans".

More at the link.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. It really is hyperbole to say US is a third world nation

Maybe it isn't all as awesome as it was some time in the past (not sure what decade he is comparing to) but we certainly are not a 3rd world nation. One of the first steps to solving a problem is to accurately describe the problem. I don't think Trump's description is accurate. I don't have confidence in his ability to solve problems if can't he describe the situation accurately.

[lonestarnot]

9. He thinks we stink.

[bluesbassman]

12. On ice.

[lonestarnot]

13. Snort!

[Blue Dalek]

11. The righties would have lost their friggin minds

if Hillary had called the USA a third world country. But dumb ass gets a pass.