***. “What distinguishes America is not its greater or lesser goodness, but simply the unrivaled power to do that which is good or bad.” [ Mark Frankland; London Observer; 11/6/1977 ]
9] “American culture is n longer synonymous with the aspiration to freedom, but with transactionalism and secrecy; the algorithems that mysteriously what you see, the money collected by anonymous billionaires, the deals that the American president is making with world leaders that benefit himself and maybe others whose names w don’t know. America was always associated with capitalism, business, and markets, but nowadays there’s no pretense hat anyone else will be invited to share the wealth.”
***. “The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind.” [Thomas Paine; Common Sense; 1776]
This post presents excerpts from Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum’s. “The Beacon Of Democracy Goes Dark”. [The Atlantic; November, 2025]. Read it and think. Read it and weep. Read it and pray for America. Read it and share it.
4] “The dramatic shift we have undergone in just a few months – away from a foreign policy based on democratic faith and toward the promotion of a more cynical, more authoritarian, view of the world – has hit these institutions hard. The fact that the Trump administration has tried to shut down all of America’s foreign broadcasters is telling.”
6] “The shift against these traditionally bipartisan institutions, against the belief that Americans should defend and promote democracy around the world, and against the democratic faith itself is part of something broader….Donald Trump appears much happier with dictators than with democratic allies.”
10] “The impact of this change around the world will be profound, far-reaching, and long-lasting. The very existence of American democracy inspired people in every corner of the planet, and the decline of American democracy will have the same effect.”
***. “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” [George Washington; 4/30/1789; First Inaugural Address]
1]. “Americans have promoted democracy just by existing. Human rights and the rule of law are in our founding documents…..In the 20th century, w moved from simply from modeling democratic ideals to spreading and promoting them as a matter of policy…..During the Cold War, we connected words such as freedom and rights…to our national identity.”
2] “After the Second World War, the dream of American freedom and prosperity strengthened what were initially shaky democracies in Western Europe and Asia, including recently defeated West Germany and Japan. Their political and economic success drew others into the fold.”
3]. “..by putting democracy at the center of our international and national identity, we also helped strengthen our own political system.”
5]. “…it remains the target of a small group of conspiracy theorists who have influence in this administration because they have a large following in X or have appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast.”
***. “Trump has no knowledge of the American story and so cannot have any faith in it. He has no understanding of or sympathy for the language of the founders, so he cannot be inspired by it. Since he doesn’t believe American democracy is good, he has no interest in an America that aspires to be a model among nations.” [Anne Applebaum: “Twilight of Democracy”]
7] “Vladimir Putin has banned media that spread “fake news’ – that is, accurate information….Rodrigo Duterte, called Rappler, a famous investigative-reporting site, a “fake news outlet”….In places as varied as Egypt and Myanmar, the fake charge of “fake news” has been used to destroy legitimate journalists.”
8]. “All these changes are part of a larger shift, a revolutionary transformation in the way Americans present themselves to the world, and the way they are therefore perceived by others. The most ubiquitous form of American culture nowadays is…the social media platforms that pump conspiracy theories..”
11]. “More predictable is the impact on americans. If we are no longer a country that aims to make the world better, but a country whose foreign policy is designed to build the wealth of the president or promote the ruling party’s friends, then we have fewer reasons to work together at home. If we promote cynicism abroad, we will become more cynical at home.”
***. “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it…” [Judge Learned Hand]
Of all the damages to America from the cancer of Trumpism. – what we are learning is this: the damage Trumpism has inflicted on the American soul may be the longest lasting, the most devastating, the most crippling. Trump is truly a CANCER. – a cancer that spreads, a cancer that strangles, a cancer that sucks the life out of us. Pray – on YOUR knees – that America manages to recover our soul……………………..
With Justice For All 