COMMENTARY: What Must They Be Thinking?

In the last several months, countries all over the globe have seen the following in this country:

1- A pandemic of historic proportions ravage our country resulting in over 500,000 Americans dead. That’s one of the worlds highest death rates, a shocking and unacceptable statistic.

2- A prominent faction of the media spread lies and propaganda about COVID and the Presidential election while the President downplayed the pandemic and threatened the journalists and politicians who rebuffed his lies.

3- A President who refused to accept election results and the majority will of the people.

4- An attempted coup and armed insurrection by the President and his supporters.

5- The instigator and perpetrators of the coup being absolved by Congress.

6- One of the largest and most populous states without heat, power and drinkable water for over a week due to an infrastructure unprepared for cold weather, despite years of warnings.

6- A polar vortex over much of the country with record cold temps, snow travel delays, accidents and deaths while many continue to deny and address climate change.

7- The rise of hate speech and the growth and tolerance of white supremacists, religious radicals and domestic violence. It’s behavior the US has criticized and admonished other countries for perpetuating and tolerating.

8- The collapse of democracy and our two-party political system, along with the weakening of the Constitution, putting us on the path to become more like Russia, Turkey, Myanmar, Syria, Nicaragua, China to name just a few of the countries led by dictators.

Suddenly, the US doesn’t seem so special! If this is how we Make America Great Again, it doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe it’s a clever Republican ploy to discourage immigration!

Because who will look at the events of the last year in the US and want to come here? They have their own coups, their own government-run media, their own despots, no power or drinkable water in their own country. And they must be thinking “My how the mighty have fallen”!