This is the story of threatening forces beyond our borders. Daniel Boone fought Indians, described then in racist terms as "savages." Davy Crockett battled Mexicans. Much the same tale gave force to cold war tales during the 1950s of international communist plots to undermine American democracy. The moral: we must be vigilant against external threats.
As with the other tales, this one has an important element of truth. America battled Hitler and other fascists in the second world war. The Soviet danger was real.
But Trump wants Americans to believe that today's Mob at the Gates consists of immigrants, foreign traders and democratically elected governments that have been our allies for decades or more.
Wrong. These days the real Mob at our gates are thugs like Vladimir Putin and other tyrants around the world who are antagonistic toward democratic institutions, intolerant of ethnic minorities, hostile toward the free press and eager to use government to benefit themselves and those who support them.
The fourth and final tale: The Rot at the Top.
This one is about the malevolence of powerful elites, their corruption and irresponsibility, and tendency to conspire against the rest of us.
This tale has given force to the populist movements of American history, from William Jennings Bryan's prairie populism of the 1890s through Bernie Sanders' progressive populist campaign in 2016, as well as Trump's authoritarian version.
Trump wants us to believe that today's Rot at the Top are cultural elites, the media and "deep state" bureaucrats.
But the real Rot at the Top consists of concentrated wealth and power to a degree this nation hasn't witnessed since the late 19th century. Billionaires, powerful corporations, and Wall Street have gained control over much of our economy and political system, padding their nests with special tax breaks and corporate welfare while holding down the wages of average workers.
In this, the rich have been helped by Republicans in Congress and the White House whose guiding ideology seems less capitalism than cronyism, as shown time and again through legislative and regulatory gifts to Big Pharma, Wall Street, Big Oil and Coal, Big Agriculture, and giant military contractors.
America's true story shouldn't end with Trump's authoritarianism and nativism.
An end that's far truer to America's ideals is a reinvigorated democracy. This will require a benevolent community free from the crony capitalists who have corrupted America.
That chapter is up to us.
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