English Puritan lawyer John Winthrop was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop’s vision of the colony as a “city upon a hill”—from the biblical Sermon on the Mount—dominated New England colonial development, influencing the governments of its neighbors.
While not the only American political leader to use the phrase, Ronald Reagan in his speech when elected President in 1980 said, “I have quoted John Winthrop’s words more than once on the campaign trail this year—for I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining city on a hill, as were those long- ago settlers.”
For many decades, that is how most of the world perceived the United States to be—decent, charitable and with a government that listened to the people. at least more than in other countries. Children were raised with the idea that based on their own performance, they could become anything they wanted, including president of that shining city on a hill.
Certainly, that was a nice myth, but there was substantial truth to the idea. Dwight Eisenhower came from a family that was impoverished but climbed the economic ladder to middle class, his father working at a creamery. He put his younger brother through college before he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. And Eisenhower was elected president.
In the 21st century, the US government has become a shining beacon of the political establishment, far removed from the people and their voices.
With the remarks of President Duterte in China regarding a “separation” from Washington, a US State Department official called the remarks “baffling”. Regardless of what you might think of Mr. Duterte’s new foreign-policy initiatives, the point is that the US is finding many global developments baffling.
Prior to the vote of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, US President Obama went to England and said, “I think it’s fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a US-UK trade agreement, but it’s not going to happen any time soon, because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done.” There is no way to interpret that, other than as a threat.
Except, his big bloc trade agreement with Europe—the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—has been derailed in large measure because thousands of people have protested in France, Spain and Poland, among others, against the US-dominated pact. The US is again baffled.
The US was baffled in 1991 when the Philippines would no longer host foreign military bases, unless it was on an equal basis with legally binding compensation. The US is baffled that the Japanese citizens of Okinawa want the US bases there removed. The US political establishment is baffled that President Duterte was elected president of the Philippines, while Donald Trump contends for his own presidency.
The people can make wrong decisions, maybe even frequently. But the worst decision that usually leads to some sort of revolution is when the political establishment ignores the people. The world seems to be rebelling against the US as the leader of the global political elite.
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