As many of you know, POTUS-elect Donald Trump wants to “drain the swamp” that is Washington D.C. When he talks about “draining the swamp” I am assuming that he wants to get rid of special interests and “insider” politicians who have been in Washington for too long and are thus standing in the way of making America great again.
But what is the meaning of the phrase “drain the swamp?” How was it been used before it became a political slogan? Yoni Appelbaum, the Washington Bureau Chief at The Atlantic, has written ten brilliant tweets to explain all of this. (Check out Yoni on Episode 3 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast).
Here they are:
1. “Drain the Swamp” is a fascinating metaphor. Harks back to campaigns to wipe out pestilential marshes, turn them into rich, arable land.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
2. One of George Washington’s earliest ventures was a plan to drain Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp, and make a fortune in landholdings. pic.twitter.com/hmvXZ2U0Jh
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
3. Large chunks of Washington, the capital that took his name, are built on land that was drained and filled by the federal government. pic.twitter.com/gtC0D7lvqP
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
4. In 1850, the Swamp Land Act gave federal land to any states that would drain it, spurring development of marshlands across the country.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
5. By the 1980s, more than half the acreage of swamps in America had been drained. pic.twitter.com/U7zp1hOg6p
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
6. But in 1972, the government reversed course. Instead of draining swamps, it began to preserve wetlands. Its goals had shifted.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
7. This partly reflected progress in combatting infectious diseases, and a lower priority placed on developing agricultural land.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
8. But, more crucially, it showed an appreciation for, well, swamps. How they absorb runoff, mitigate flooding, provide rich habitat.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
9. Draining swamps was a drastic measure—solving problems by leveling terrain, with no attempt to sort the functional from the dysfunctional
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
10. Swamp drainage programs destroyed as much as they created—wetland preservation aims to preserve benefits while mitigating harms.
— Yoni Appelbaum (@YAppelbaum) November 29, 2016
