America is now living the fears of its early founders - Henry McLeish

This hijacking of the celebration is the uncomfortable reality facing millions of Americans, seeing “Donald Trump sounding a lot closer to King George III than he does to George Washington.” The Nation.com added, “the approach to the 250 th celebrations has sparked intense controversy show casing profound narcissism. Events to honour the nation’s history have been largely reorganised around the President’s 80th birthday and his own interests” and, “pushing his own legacy is forcing the country away from its founding principles”.

In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville visited New York. The French aristocrat was the first foreigner to see what America would become: not just a country, but an idea. He said, in his book “Democracy in America,” “one powerful enough to shape the future of the world”. He was right. But now 250 years after the birth of the Republic people, inside and outside America, are starting to question the health of its democracy.

A new “Democracy in America” podcast from the “Economist” posed the question,” how much of what inspired the great liberal thinker about America remains?”

Learning from our own inspiring Declaration of Arbroath, embracing the arrival of the age of reason underpinning the Enlightenment in Europe, attracting immigrants to build this new country, and keen to be free from a distant King George III, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights have shaped and inspired the US and many other countries.

But today Presidential rule bears little resemblance to the aspirations of the founding fathers. Significantly, the President is now being attacked by Republicans in Congress conscious of the looming midterms but also recognising they have been missing in action as the President takes executive action to extreme lengths trashing the constitutional checks and balances set down by the founding fathers to contain the tyrannical excesses of any future President that might be elected to the highest office in the Land.

In this period of reflection and celebration, America is now living the fears of its early founders.

The President has sidelined, “America 250” the official bipartisan taskforce set up by the Congress a decade ago to oversee celebrations and substituted, “Freedom 250” a highly political and personal framing of the celebrations. Trump has cancelled the 250th anniversary concert and decided to, “have a rally to end all rallies” with himself as the main and only attraction.

Republicans in Congress have halted a one billion dollar funding bill being sought for his East Wing Ballroom and have scuppered his 1.8 billion dollar, “Anti Weaponisation Bill” to financially compensate or reward many of those January 6 looters and rioters who inflicted such damage on Capitol Hill.

The courts have removed Trumps name from the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, now closed, as artistic talent was forced to flee this iconic Washington venue.

To celebrate his 80th birthday he hosted last week an “Ultimate Fighting Championship” (UFC) Cage Fight for 5000 people on the South Lawn of the White House, at an estimated cost of 40 million dollars!

Writing in the New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman, said, “Trumps politics are not America First, But of America alone and Me First.”

There are however memories of another more inspiring America. US involvement in World War II ensured victory over Nazi Germany. In sharp contrast to Trump and his America first and only vision, the US helped rebuild Europe, stabilised the world economy, help create the great pan global institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, NATO and the Council of Europe and laid the foundations for the creation of the European Union: these memories of America are worth celebrating.

The Founding Fathers - white, Christian, male, wealthy landowners - were the electorate of this new Republic, never intending to represent anything other than an elite and exclusive grip on this fledging Republic. They were however fearful of the mob, political parties and how political corruption could undermine their unique ideas about the future of America and agonised about a President who could overturn the ideals contained in the founding documents.

A set of checks and balances, underpinning the Presidency, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and strong federal states, have not prevented a US President moving America towards authoritarianism, a decaying democracy and turning the “voter suppression” of minorities, in Republican states, into a growth industry. Despite the inspiring leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Johnston, and Martin Luther King, race and racism still cast a long dark shadow over a deeply divided country.

America will survive this period of instability, loss of positive direction and hopefully return to taking a more serious and informed interest in a very troubled and uncertain world: but also a world the US will need if they are to remain relevant beyond July the 4th.

Putting this enduring desire for tyranny and divine rights into a political and personal perspective, let’s consider October 31st , 1776, when King George III made his first speech before Parliament in London since the leader of the American Revolution George

Washington signed the Declaration of Independence. The King said that “all was not going well for Britain in the war with the US, for daring and desperate in the spirit of those leaders whose objective has always been dominion and powers they have now openly renounced allegiances to the crown and all political connections with this country.”

But striking common cause between George III and Donald I, History.com describes the narcissism of both men, when the King said, “I have no wish but the prosperity of my own dominions, therefore I must look upon all who would not heartily assist me as bad men, as well as bad subjects. I wish nothing but good, therefor every man who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel”

A familiar refrain? An honest and timely reflection on perceived divine mandates which have stood the test of time and help explain why this White House is spectacularly out of touch with a remarkable country!