Wither America?

I grew up to be a natural friend of the American people, what with my parents having settled in the US in the late 50s! The Pilgrim Fathers, Hiawatha, Davy Crockett, Johnny Appleseed were some of my American heroes. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were my playmates. As I grew older, among others Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Declaration of Independence were my sources of inspiration. God's Own Country welcomed all to its still largely un-chartered territory. Henry David Thoreau with his pamphlet on 'Civil Disobedience' inspired Mahatma Gandhi, to adopt successfully the path of 'non-cooperation' to fight a non-violent war for India's Independence against the British.The Statue of Liberty was more than a tourist attraction. It signaled the leadership of America as the champion of liberty and democracy, all over the world. My admiration for the country rose even higher, when I viewed the US as the country, which saved the world against the onward march of Nazism and Fascism, during World War II. The entire world looked up to America and admired and envied it.

Up to a point America acted as the counter check to the spreading Communist hegemony, during the Cold War It is at this time, when the 'Ugly American' appeared on the global scene, immortalized by the now famous 1958 novel by Lederer and Burdick. America started losing "the battle for hearts and minds-in Southeast Asia, because of its arrogance and failure to understand the local culture." From then on, up to the very recent Iraq misadventure, the world looks askance at the continuing loss of moral leadership of the US in the comity of nations. A supposedly democratic nation supporting dictatorship around the world and trying to impose its own model of democracy, by the power of the gun, leaves us confounded and in angry despair. By bypassing the United Nations and International Law it appears as the sole bully on the block, out to police the world on its own terms. This is not the voice of the American people, but that of a coterie of vested interests around the President, who will leave behind a sorry legacy. The US is viewed today even by its well-wishers as bankrupt in the political arena - both at the domestic and at the international level.

What should be bothering us is that the game of deceit is being played on its own citizens, not only by the Bush cronies but even by the so called independent media. In fact, this article is prompted by the comments my fellow CPs, RM Gal and Wizard made to my earlier article 'Wither Democracy'. They gave me a shocker, by mentioning one unknown Ron Paul as a Republican contender. The American media would have us believe, that the Republication nomination race is over and McCain is the man. Today, I find that this not the case. Ron Paul is going to hold a parallel convention of his own on the second day of the GOP convention - to tell fellow Americans that the race is still on. This is a matter of shame for the American media and democracy. To what extent can they be allowed to mislead the public? After reading RM Gal's comment, I looked up Ron Paul's website and going by his track record, he could possibly be as good a candidate for President's job as Obama, if not better. I feel, that even among the public who are inclined towards the Democratic Party, should still fight for Ron's stake to be honestly put before the country, before it is too late. This matter cuts across party lines.

IF WE DO NOT FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS, WE HAVE ALREADY NEGOTIATED OUR READINESS TO LOSE OUR RIGHTS!