Even as America seems to be battling severe fires at home, do we see the end of American supremacy?
For decades now, we have seen America as the ‘big brother’ of the world; as a country, the United States of America has dominated the world in all areas concerned.
Big brother has presented dominance politically, diplomatically, economically, culturally, scientific and research, art and music; the contribution and the status that America has enjoyed has been unparallel to anything in this world.
Yet, now we are seeing a very different trend emerge, a country that was called as powerful as the Imperial Rome, a country that was regarded stronger than any combination of nations in the world, today is cracking under pressure.
Once America owned the tallest buildings in the world, the most prestigious and largest companies in the world, the best of healthcare, and how can we forget the famous movie industry – Hollywood, which was regarded as the most sophisticated and by far the most famous of all film/entertainment industry.
However, in the year 2021, the share of America in the global pie is reducing day by day, today; if we were to pick up and compare any field that America excelled in – it seems that the title is slowly but surely slipping away!
Today the tallest buildings are in Dubai. China is giving intense competition to American companies. Today, the most prominent companies are Chinese, and ironically the biggest movie Industry is Indian (not taking the current condition of Bollywood).
Covid -19 pandemic has shown the holes in America’s once admired health industry, even as India is vaccinating the world!
Another grey area emerging in the US is the breakdown of law and order, which was evident by the Capitol Building’s storming and the recent protests required for America to handle it with more precise force than ever before. Today America, which was called the shores of freedom, is fighting a racial divide.
What is emerging as a picture is that today, the US looks very similar to the countries that it has been loaning its troops to, to fight the battle of democracy, today it seems to be very close to fighting the same struggles in its background as it did in troubled parts of the world.
The United States, when presented its views, the whole world took to attention; when it talked about its interests, the world cooperated, and when it spoke about its values, the world imbibed them. Yet, today the wind is blowing in a different direction for America.
Are we stepping into a post – America world?
In one of his speeches, Joe Biden said, “America is back!” but this might just be a statement to reassure Americans that the country still holds its position in the eyes of the world.
Albeit the truth is distorted, today, the world dynamics and balance are shifting and have changed since the democrats were in power. Today, America is facing too many challenges back home, such that the Biden administration is finding it tough to take the lead on world issues and problems.
Unfortunately for America, it is the worst hit nation when it comes to Coronavirus; it has, to date, registered 20 million cases, and still counting over 4,60,000 deaths and counting, schools are yet to reopen in many states.
While vaccines are sitting idle in minority communities, even as the UK variant of the Covid -19 is spreading rapidly in America.
A study says that the mutated virus in America is doubling every ten days and may become America’s dominant strain by March 2021 and can drive up the cases and more deaths.
American Political Arena
The political arena has perhaps never seen as bad days as in recent times in America; the political system in America at the moment seems beyond repair.
The Republicans are rallying behind Donald Trump and have dismissed the impeachment as a waste of time.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have not waivered and have said that they will not rest until Trump is convicted, and this continual war is hampering legislation.
Social Unrest an all-time high
America is on the boil not just politically but also socially. The Americans today have become deeply distrustful of one another; this has perhaps never happened in America we grew up seeing, so much so that today the Americans distrust each other’s beliefs and plans.
Compare this to America we knew which provided equal opportunities to all irrespective of their race, beliefs, gender, social conditioning, etc.
In a recent poll conducted by the Associated press, 85% of the registered voters described America as being deeply divided in their values, and only 15% said that democracy was working – this is huge for America!
In another poll conducted by CBS News in January this year – 54% said America’s biggest threat was not the economic collapse, natural disasters, or foreign interference but (hold your breath) its citizens!
Racial Unrest
The sentiment expressed in the CBS News poll depicts the racial undercurrents and unrest that America is facing today.
Biden’s promise to make America diverse is not working, and his statement that it will take some time to undo the impact of Donald Trumps Presidency.
According to yet another study, the vaccination drive among Black Americans has not taken off as it should have and is significantly lower than White Americans.
In all the states of America, a similar trend is emerging, and according to experts, it is the way that the Blacks are treated in the healthcare sector which is to blame for this disparity.
Hence, when Joe Biden took to saying that ‘America is back’ is far from it, America is consistently losing ground both at home and in the eyes of the world.
Joe Biden has a humongous and challenging task at hand, which is to keep America from crumbling and falling in on itself, for America to be taken seriously again, Joe Biden will have to take the help of a magic wand to rid America of its current political and social crises, which may overflow to an impossible situation if not handled immediately, expertly, with precision and delicately, of course!