The Necessity of Global Solidarity in an "America First" Nation
By Katherine Altman
“Make America Great Again.” A simple slogan, but with potentially dangerous implications. President Trump has rooted America’s greatness as an isolationist agenda, and his budget proposal has slashed foreign aid. The Trump administration sees empathy and compassion across borders as a detriment to our nation’s strength and reputation. In essence, global solidarity is considered the enemy to America’s success. At the same time, working towards global solidarity is of the essence as it is crucial for saving America’s moral identity.
On March 15, the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life along with Millennial hosted "Global Solidarity in an 'America First' Nation" as part of its Salt and Light program. The purpose of the event was to engage young professionals with the issue of global solidarity and have them interact with a diverse set of panelists, which included Elizabeth Bruenig, Shaun Casey, and Robert Costa. Each panelist brought a different perspective to the table, but their voices were cohesive in that global solidarity is a major and underestimated priority.
A national political reporter for the Washington Post who exclusively covered Trump’s presidential campaign, Robert Costa stated that Trump’s view of “America First” is grounded in a hostile view towards immigration and globalization. The president’s rhetoric towards global solidarity serves to invoke and confirm inadequate fears. In contract, Pope Francis would consider such a position on immigration and globalization as “the reality of evil.” Panelist Shaun Casey, former director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs, made the point that “Trump and Pope Francis have a radically different moral vision of the other.” This begs the question of who is the “other”? Francis calls everyone to understand the “other” as our brother and sister, and we are all responsible to form a great human family that is harmonious in its diversity. The ideology of “America First” neglects and dehumanizes our brothers and sisters, a stance that results in a failure to uphold the responsibility of seeing each person as a member of a global family. Elizabeth Bruenig expanded on this concept of family and how it does not happen in a state of polarization. Rather, all parties must admit failure and choose to come to the table in order to find a solution.
Katherine Altman (NHS'19) is an undergraduate studying healthcare management and policy at Georgetown.