What does America first mean?

[PurpleTree]

Does it mean the US protects its hegemonic status with bases, petro dollar, reserve currency and so on.

In which the US has to fight wars to protect those. Drop some bombs here and there. Maybe a little government change. Suppress competition.

Or does it mean the US focuses more on itself on its mainland and so on. More isolationist. In which Anerica will easily be overtaken soon in terms of economy and dominance.

Does it mean America as strong as possible? Is America stronger with or without Nato?

[Consept]

It's basically competitive over collaboration

[Deziree]

It means a lot of things and it depends on the version you ask. 

Trump's version is probably this -

(though Trump's version keeps flip-flopping depending on his mood and a week ago he said that it means whatever he wants it to be in the moment) 

"Make America safe again, make America affordable and energy dominant again, drain the swamp, bring back American values." This is the Trump version as of late, at least till his most recent campaigning before the election. 

Historical versions also exist. 

It was a popular republican slogan in the 1800s and President Woodrow Wilson used to mean that America should be neutral and out of the first world war and should have nothing to do with it in a way to say American priorities first. 

It was also used by Charles Lindbergh during WW2 to keep America out of foreign wars. 

It had strong resonance with Make America Great Again. 

It was also an anti-semite slogan in the 1950s used by anti-immigration movements. 

It was then picked up by the rise of Ku Klux Klan and used as a nativist racist slogan to mean that America only belonged to predominantly white people. It was a way of saying me first,only my version of America here. (Which meant 100% American blood or 100% Anglo-Saxon. There was this so called one drop rule, a racist rule, at the time in America that meant that one drop of black blood made someone legally black and subject to slavery or Jim Crow laws.) And that meant nobody else who is — anybody who's not white, not Protestant, not what they saw as a native born American, an old style American - should be allowed on American soil. The age old debate on what kind of country country we want to live in, and who has the right to be here. It was turned from an isolationist slogan to a nativist white nationalist slogan. When Bannon refers to "economic nationalism" it has the same meaning. 

It bears similarities with the phrase "American dream" which is another popular catchphrase that Trump often uses. But the phrase had different implied meanings in the 1950s which was very inclusive, it meant racial justice and liberty for all and a prospect for everyone to achieve the American dream. 

It was then changed into making America as Trump wants it to be. As in Trump's version of America is the cartoonish version of 1950s America where Trump has it easy and he wants to presumably bring back that version of America. Trump feeds into the resentment that many people have they can't see the 1950s America anymore which means predominantly white groups. The struggle between liberal democracy and authoritarian fascism. America first speaks directly to that segment of white America that felt they were losing their power, their dominance. 

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:36 PM by Deziree
Adding more

[Apparition of Jack]

“Why should us Romans care about Egypt or Spain? From now our we’re putting Italy first!”

- Roman populist, circa 200 AD 

[LordFall]

@PurpleTree You would think the first one. America has to take pretty drastic actions to retain its current global dominance otherwise in the next 5 years it’ll be overtaken by China. You would think they’ll use all kinds of financial manipulation and conflict building to stop that from happening. 

[trenton]

I think America first is bullshit propaganda designed for low intelligent people which does not benefit America in any way, shape, or form. It serves to undermine our relationships with our allies which it already has and it is only serving to make as weaker and more pathetic.

[Joshe]

14 minutes ago, trenton said:

I think America first is bullshit propaganda designed for low intelligent people which does not benefit America in any way, shape, or form. It serves to undermine our relationships with our allies which it already has and it is only serving to make as weaker and more pathetic.

Right. It seems to serve two functions.

1) Make the low-intelligence segment of the citizenry feel like their interests comes first. 
2) Virtue signal (care, concern, empathy, patriotism) to the low-intelligent citizenry.

And of course the citizenry thinks their needs should come first, before anyone else's. The whole notion is pathetic AF.  

Edited Thursday at 12:20 AM by Joshe

[Deziree]

4 hours ago, Joshe said:

Right. It seems to serve two functions.

1) Make the low-intelligence segment of the citizenry feel like their interests comes first. 
2) Virtue signal (care, concern, empathy, patriotism) to the low-intelligent citizenry.

And of course the citizenry thinks their needs should come first, before anyone else's. The whole notion is pathetic AF.  

I agree there's not much merit to it. Bogus slogan invented to attract Trump brigade. 

[BlueOak]

Fascism. 

[sholomar]

In theory it's supposed to mean supporting our middle class over the middle class of other countries. In practice, the rich will continue to get richer because of the policies in many countries such as quantitative easing which basically act to prop up asset prices, and the wages never seem to keep up with the rise in asset prices. Also globalization has lead to increased competition when it comes to labor costs. The idea is if you bring back manufacturing, maybe the wages actually go up to the way the boomers had them, where homes were affordable and the like. 

What they really need to do, but won't, is stop using property bubbles to prop up economies. Even left leaning countries like canada to this... no restrictions at all when it comes to owning multiple properties, foreigners buying properties, etc.  Without these regulations wealth will continue to consolidate/concentrate as housing ends up in the hands of the wealthy and the lower class get priced out. 

Edited Thursday at 10:28 AM by sholomar

[Twentyfirst]

Domestically it means go back to 1950s before corporations took over, immigrants flooded, and the families got broken up. Foreign it means they can't afford to police, steal, and kill anymore (not because it's unethical) but because it's actually hurting them and it took this long to realize the consequences

America first is the best path can America can go on at this point. Any other path will lead to more decay. Even a civil war is better than any other path but better than that is AF