People have always fantasized about a golden age when things / people were better (there are nostalgic comments in Homer). But for most Americans now alive, the Edenic period was the 1950’s, as characterized by the sitcoms of the era. Patriarchy, white privilege, racism, xenophobia and other ailments— were as much a problem then as now (if not more so), but most white middle-class people were unaware of the water that enabled their swimming.

You may have noticed that Trump has changed his rhetoric. The slogan “Make America Great” has been changed to “Keep America Great.” In three years, Trump has fixed all the problems he decried (concocted) in order to get elected. In the new rhetoric, America IS great (and Trump loves America), but certain Americans are not great: the complainers, the invasive species, the infestations, the criminals, the faux journalists, all conflated into The People Who Hate America, a.k.a. The People Who Hate Trump. These people have to be eliminated in order to keep America great and keep Trump in power. Murder, violence, and exile aren’t necessary (but they make a darn good threat). A court decision to deprive The Enemy of their power will do nicely, thank you. And if that’s not enough, there’s crippling debt, courtesy of our education “system” (thank you, Miss Betsy) spiraling healthcare costs, and robotization.

I doubt that Trump thinks or cares enough about America to love it or hate it. His only worry is his golf score. But I’m pretty sure that he hates the very Americans who represent the core values of the country, because they challenge his authority, and he loves to use these people as targets in order to maximize his authority.

Then do the people who love Trump love America? They don’t seem to love the America that the revolutionaries fought for in 1776. But they love to brand their enemies as The Enemy of America, and in their eyes that makes them patriots.