The Death of America

Are we watching the death of America?

It seems that we are indeed watching the end of this great experiment in democracy after 244 years. This once great nation, a constitutional republic founded, as Lincoln said "of the people, by the people, for the people," is not the America in which I have lived for decades.  

The federal government, which is supposed to serve all the people, now serves only the wealthiest 1 percent and those who blindly follow the cult leader in the White House. The current administration is hell bent on destroying some of the keystone programs of the government -- the postal service, Social Security and Medicare, among others. It is actively working to foment violence and division rather than doing what other administrations have done: trying to unite us as citizens with more in common beliefs than differences. Its legal system has been usurped by political henchmen in the US Department of Justice. The courts have been packed with ultraconservative judges.

White nationalism, hatred and racism are growing by leaps and bounds, encouraged by the orange buffoon in the White House. Our country, unless we act quickly and decisively, will die just as surely as did other civilizations, including the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Babylonians and Romans. America is, I fear, following in their footsteps. But their civilizations lasted thousands of years by comparison.

How sad and pathetic it is when the president* of the United States refers to those who serve in the military as "suckers" and to those who lose their lives in service to this country as "losers." How disgusting to realize that this president* is incapable of honoring and appreciating the sacrifices of anyone who does anything that is not a direct benefit to him/herself. He clearly has never done anything for anybody unless he benefited from it. This is a man who refused to pay contractors hired to put up a building. This is a man who stole money from a charity for children with cancer.

I am watching the demise of my country with a mixture of sadness, anger and shame. I do not recognize what America has become. Yes, there has always been racism and misogyny, but it has now come out of the shadows and is on full display, its adherents emboldened by the president's* rhetoric. Now white police officers kneel on the neck of a black man as he struggles to breathe. They shoot a black paramedic as she sleeps in her bed. They shoot an unarmed black man seven times in the back, leaving him permanently paralyzed. A heavily armed 17-year-old has his mother drive him across state lines so he can shoot three protesters, killing two and injuring one. Then he is praised for his 'patriotism' by right wing pundits. And the US president refuses to condemn this act of murder, just as he refused to call out the president of Russia for paying bounties for the death of American soldiers in Afghanistan. Strong women are attacked as "nasty" and called derogatory names.

We are living in a complete moral breakdown. Immigrant children languish in cages along the southwestern border. The ruling elites govern not in the best interests of the country at large, but only in the self-interest of themselves and their cronies. Our most cherished beliefs -- equality, freedom, service to others, true patriotism, caring for the sick, the elderly and the poor -- have gone the way of the dodo bird. Now the only thing that matters is accumulating still more wealth and playing to one's "base" -- a term whose multiple meanings seem incredibly appropriate now. Now the ruling elite works ceaselessly to destroy the country's safety net on which millions rely for their very survival -- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And how about working to strip tens of millions of Americans of their health insurance, especially in the midst of the worst pandemic in more than a century?

The long-held theory of American exceptionalism -- the belief that America is somehow different from other nations as it arose from the American Revolution -- appears dead. America is not exceptional is so many ways. The United States is no longer a beacon of hope and promise and leadership. Other countries no longer look to the United States to lead the way, whether in the fight against Covid-19 or in any other area. We no longer participate with other nations, having withdrawn from a variety of international accords and efforts.

I think America has often been an arrogant country. We have the natural resources, the military might and the large population to make us naturally strong. And until the current administration came along, we also had the desire to be part of the global community, to work with other nations to defeat tyrants and to help other nations at times of need. Now, we're still arrogant, but in the worst possible way.

These days, we are little better than tin-pot nations ruled over by tyrants (or in our case, a president who clearly wants to be a dictator). We are a country where the wealthy get wealthier as others become poorer. Where so-called tax cuts benefit only the wealthy and big corporations. Where people cannot afford medical care. We now are a country where a warped idea of 'rugged individualism' has superceded the idea of working together for the common good.

I hope I am wrong. I desperately want this country to get back on track, to resume its position of leadership and hope. I want to no longer be embarassed by what this country stands for.

I want to be proud to be an American, not ashamed.