The Age of Trump wrapped itself in the flag of false patriotism while simultaneously destroying America’s sacred civic myths about its national greatness and the permanence of its democracy. This paradox has left many Americans dizzy as they are forced to confront the harmful consequences caused by their belief in a country that never existed.
President Ronald Reagan famously talked about a “new day in America” as he encouraged the American people to shrug off their old cynicism and to embrace a new optimism. So many Americans believed that their country was truly “a shining city on the hill” and a beacon of democracy and freedom for the world. There is also the common belief in the fundamental decency and goodness of the American people and that such “universal values” would make the likes of President Trump and other such demagogues an impossibility, as they were judged to be incompatible with the national character and temperament of the American people.
