Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Soldiers take an oath to defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. For most Americans, oaths are hollow formalities but our military people, especially senior officers, see them as sacred rites. The words became incandescent from sacrifices at Valley Forge and Gettysburg, Belleau Wood and Normandy, Read More …
Brian M Dowing Today’s populism isn’t a cult. It’s a broad-based movement that’s grown in numbers and vitality over the last fifty years. Pollsters and social scientists for the most part missed it, though anyone who saw Arbitron and Nielsen’s radio ratings knew something was up. Politicians and academics and Read More …
Brian M Downing Rural-dwellers, opponents of big government, traditional nationalists, working people, and the religious right constitute the popular base. They have emotional attachment to America. When asked if they love their country they unhesitatingly affirm it. Other Americans respond, “Well, yes…but.” The base sees the rest of the country Read More …
Brian M Downing Religion was once central to family, community, and nation. The three formed a coherent whole. The new land created a covenant for a free, devout people. Religion and patriotism were, as Robert Bellah put it, fused into a civil religion. Both religion and patriotism have declined significantly Read More …
Brian M Downing Many in the movement see themselves as true patriots – descendants of homesteaders and workers and soldiers. Their love of America is deep and gut-level. They see others speak the appropriate words and stand for the Anthem but judge their affection as shallow and less forceful. They’re Read More …
Brian M Downing Americans see themselves as independent, self-reliant, and opposed to intrusive forces. That was essential to the merchants, craftsmen, planters, and farmers who opposed British taxation and Church of England expansion. “Don’t tread on me” was embroidered into flags and myths. The principle surfaced during the Whiskey Rebellion, the Read More …
Brian M Downing A new populism began with H Ross Perot’s presidential campaigns and the Tea Party movement. Both were short-lived but populism came back strong with the Trump victory in 2016. Defeat four years later, the January 6 insurrection, and a slew of indictments of its leader haven’t weakened it. Read More …
Brian M Downing Studying the quarrels of an ancient day [we] can at least seek to understand both parties to the struggle and want to understand them better than they understood themselves; watching them entangled in the net of time and circumstance [we] can take pity on them – these Read More …
Brian M Downing Wall Street is doing quite well. Inflation is heading down and indexes are reaching new highs. Analysts believe the market is factoring in a second Trump presidency next January. It may be a miscalculation – one based on assurances of continuity and stability. However, the public mood Read More …
Brian M Downing Isolationism was once essential to the American identity. We had two oceans to protect us and trade opportunities across both. Isolationism has come and gone over the years. A new form, a counterfeit one, is taking hold in Washington. Our allies see the new isolationists as dangerous. Read More …