The ‘American Creed’

If the Democratic Party wants to beat Donald Trump in the next presidential election, it will have to present a candidate and a program grounded on another mainstream tenet of nationalism: the “American Creed.” And given the current circumstances, only Joe Biden can be that candidate.

It was the night of a million questions. Nov. 8, 2016. Against the expectations of an overwhelming majority of people, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. On television, a news anchor asked with a blank stare whether this could really be happening, whether it was possible. At first, it was very strange. The country made history in 2008 when it elected Barack Hussein Obama, an African American and son of a Muslim, who was strongly compared to Abraham Lincoln. Eight years later, the country chose a white nativist, who promised to restore greatness to “real Americans” and who was inspired by Andrew Jackson. It was necessary to find answers, and those could usually be found in such great books as Anatol Lieven’s magnificent “America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism.”

Ironically, this work, which helped explain Trump’s victory, may also contribute to understanding how the Democratic Party can defeat the 45th president in November. It analyzes nationalism, one of the most important components of American political culture, and its two principal strands – the “American creed” and the “antithesis.” Lieven opens with a seductive and accurate image of an “America [which] maintains a splendid and comforting home, while housing a family of demons in its cellar.”

The “American creed,” also known as civic nationalism, is a kind of nationalism that represents optimism and confidence, one which is based on the belief in the nation’s glorious future. It has been the foundation and dominant force of the country for most of its history. It corresponds to a set of democratic, legal and individualistic beliefs and principles on which the state and Constitution were founded. It is a set of propositions rooted in the enlightenment, which the United States believes in and presents to the world. The country defends this belief, as the term suggests, with an ideological fervor that borders on the religious. Its main elements are liberty, democracy, rule of law, individualism, cultural (definitely not economic) egalitarianism, social promotion independent of inherited social status, and the duty to export American values abroad – in ways that at times seem messianic.

The “antithesis” strand of nationalism is also known as ethno-racial or nativist nationalism, and refers to the demons in the cellar of the American house, who are subordinate to the “creed” for most of the time, but surface in moments of crisis such as wars, economic depression or attempted terrorism. Contrary to the first strand, it is pessimistic about the future. Under the antithesis strand of nationalism, the main desire is to return to an idealized past, to a “more ethnically and culturally pure nation” where “hardworking and decent people are guaranteed a dignified job,” a government by the people, for the people, not for the elite, and a system of values based on love for the country (and the honor of dying for it), family, religion, resilience during times of adversity, hard work and a “pure America” untarnished by foreigners or immigrants.*

In foreign policy, the first kind of nationalism helped to consolidate American power and influence on a global scale, turning the country into an archetype for others. It allowed the U.S. to become a world power capable of constructing and defending international order as well as spreading its values and setting an example. The second kind of nationalism has always led to isolation, a distrust of that which is foreign, rejection of any kind of global leadership role, and the belief in the purity of an age in which George Washington warned of the dangers of alliances with foreign states.

As I asserted in this paper four years ago, Trump’s victory was rooted in the profound force of the antithesis form of nationalism, which was translated into the idea of America’s demise, of the U.S. falling victim to its elite and the “other,” almost like a developing nation, violent, unequal, and overtaken by unemployment and injustice. It was a force was exploited by the rest of the world which took advantage of the international security provided by America in such an opportunistic manner without paying for it and continued to exploit Americans.

In short, it is urgent that a nation that has lost its greatness and honor be fixed and be made grand once again. Hence the campaign slogans “America First,” and “Make America Great Again.” But also central to this political program is the offensive against the Washington establishment, the denunciation of “false promises” and globalization, the defense of protectionism, the offensive against immigrants, both Hispanic and Muslim (reaching the point of proposing a wall to protect the country from this evil), and the rejection of that which is foreign.

If the Democratic Party wants to defeat Trump in the next presidential election, it must present a candidate and a platform founded on the American creed form of nationalism. And in the current situation, only Joe Biden can be its candidate and voice.

Biden must not only recognize this extraordinary nationalist force in America, (today reborn not just in America, but in other places as well) but adopt his own version of nationalism that is tolerant, promotes confidence and a belief in the abilities of Americans and their future. Contrary to suggestions otherwise, Biden has been principally responsible for domestic and international growth in America. He has the answers that are needed to many of the major problems that Americans face day to day, in the economy, and with regard to issues of identity, immigration, security and foreign policy.

He accepts that the first moral obligation of the American government is to ensure the material and physical safety of the citizens. He believes in an American dream attainable by hard and honorable work. He is open and inclusive. He recognizes his moral obligation to economic immigrants, but he is also unforgiving with respect to illegal immigration. He defends the idea that America must fight any threat to its security in a tough and decisive manner, if necessary by declaring war that demands the enemy’s unconditional surrender. He is an internationalist as long as it aligns with the interests of the nation, willing to confront any enemy, real or potential, military or merely economic.

Any observer of American politics knows that presidential elections are always won by someone who represents the political culture of the nation or one of its foundational myths, or a moment in its history, or resembles a real or idealized hero from the past. Like it or not, Biden represents the American creed. Socialist Bernie Sanders represents nothing in America now.

*Editor’s note: Although these passages are accurately translated, they could not be independently verified, although they are presumed to come from Lieven’s book.