Post by LFC on Jun 8, 2022 17:52:41 GMT
An American born and raised here but of Pakistani ancestry wonders Is It Time for Me to Leave America? It's a fair question.
Earlier this week, New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi was trolled and harassed on Twitter for simply stating the following: “I’m a child of immigrants. When I was a kid, everyone I knew wished they could raise their children in America, now, everyone I know wishes they could raise their children outside of America.”
If you’ve traveled and talked to people over the past few years, her statement wasn’t extraordinary, it’s a sadly common utterance. Most people around the world aren’t rejoicing at America’s self-inflicted downfall, they’re looking at us with pity, sadness, and a desperate hope that we get our shit together. After all, the United States is still the most powerful and wealthy country in the world, and a doorstop against rising authoritarianism.
It is also, unfortunately, number one in all the wrong categories. We lead the world in COVID-19 deaths due in large part to rampant right-wing disinformation about vaccines. We have 390 million guns for 330 million people, so it’s not surprising we lead the world in mass shootings and gun-related deaths. (While I was writing this column, we just witnessed another deadly shooting in Tulsa—just as the 21 victims of last week’s Uvalde, Texas, shooting are being buried.)
We don’t ban assault rifles, but we do incarcerate more people than any nation on Earth. We’re the only industrialized country that doesn’t guarantee paid parental leave, but we’re so “pro-family” that we’re restricting women’s rights to abortion, even as many countries continue to expand them. And for the first time, the U.S. was labeled a “back-sliding democracy” by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, due to the actions of the Trump administration.
It’s pretty clear that this country and its democracy aren’t trending in the right direction.
Just this week, we’ve learned that the GOP is unleashing a multi-pronged precinct strategy using Republican operatives to allege voter fraud in close elections. A majority of Republican voters believe in the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and nearly 65 percent of them believe in an aspect of the white supremacist “replacement theory.”
These talking points are now mainstream, thanks to Fox News and Republican elected officials. Conspiracy theories—such as QAnon and the associated “groomer” panic—have radicalized individuals to commit violence, including members of the violent mob that tried to overthrow our free and fair election on Jan. 6. It’s a near certainty that numerous QAnon supporters will be elected to office this November.
If Republicans take control of the political leadership of Congress, which seems likely, they will be beholden to an increasingly radicalized and weaponized base that is fine using violence to “take back their country.”
Meanwhile, Republicans refuse to move against white supremacist terrorism, which is the number one domestic terror threat in the country. Instead their colleagues, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, openly attend conferences hosted by Nick Fuentes—a notorious antisemite and white nationalist. The hoods are off, and there’s no turning back for the GOP.
As a Muslim, I saw President Donald Trump openly say, “I think Islam hates us.” He ran on a promise to enact a “complete and total ban” on Muslims. He was not only elected as president in 2016, but he received 11 million more votes after spending four years doubling down on chaos, hate, xenophobia, and cruelty. History has taught us that when authoritarian movements see people as problems, they usually come up with gruesome and horrific solutions.
It’s tough to love a country that doesn’t love you back, and even tougher to fight for it as it’s trying to kill you.
Unfortunately, the last two years have revealed that the institutions that have the power to respond have repeatedly failed. Media organizations have chosen the path toward self-immolation by rehabilitating their sworn enemies for the sake of profit and ratings. CBS News’ co-president Neeraj Khemlani rationalized the hiring of former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as a contributor by citing the need for “access” to a likely Republican administration in the future. Most media outlets will fail us as they “both sides” our democracy towards fascism.
Corporations, historically, have always paved the road for fascist leaders, because it’s good for business—until it isn’t. Disney is learning this the hard way after enduring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wrath for balking at his hateful “don’t say gay” policy. That was a warning shot across the bow for all business leaders to get in line or face the GOP boot.
Meanwhile, it’s apparent that most Democrats aren’t built for this challenge. They bring a pencil to a knife fight, while Republicans and Mitch McConnell bring an AR-15. President Biden still refers to Republicans who are committed to obstructing him every step of the way as “rational.” Members of the GOP voted against certifying the election hours after a mob threatening to hang the vice president sacked the Capitol. But some Democrats, especially obstructionists such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, still think we need the filibuster to preserve bipartisanship. Democracy dies, in part, thanks to white moderates who tend to the economic anxiety of “average” Americans while ignoring the lament and cries of the rest of us.
With all this, you can’t blame my father, who’s now in his seventies, for begging me to at least develop an exit plan.
If you’ve traveled and talked to people over the past few years, her statement wasn’t extraordinary, it’s a sadly common utterance. Most people around the world aren’t rejoicing at America’s self-inflicted downfall, they’re looking at us with pity, sadness, and a desperate hope that we get our shit together. After all, the United States is still the most powerful and wealthy country in the world, and a doorstop against rising authoritarianism.
It is also, unfortunately, number one in all the wrong categories. We lead the world in COVID-19 deaths due in large part to rampant right-wing disinformation about vaccines. We have 390 million guns for 330 million people, so it’s not surprising we lead the world in mass shootings and gun-related deaths. (While I was writing this column, we just witnessed another deadly shooting in Tulsa—just as the 21 victims of last week’s Uvalde, Texas, shooting are being buried.)
We don’t ban assault rifles, but we do incarcerate more people than any nation on Earth. We’re the only industrialized country that doesn’t guarantee paid parental leave, but we’re so “pro-family” that we’re restricting women’s rights to abortion, even as many countries continue to expand them. And for the first time, the U.S. was labeled a “back-sliding democracy” by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, due to the actions of the Trump administration.
It’s pretty clear that this country and its democracy aren’t trending in the right direction.
Just this week, we’ve learned that the GOP is unleashing a multi-pronged precinct strategy using Republican operatives to allege voter fraud in close elections. A majority of Republican voters believe in the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and nearly 65 percent of them believe in an aspect of the white supremacist “replacement theory.”
These talking points are now mainstream, thanks to Fox News and Republican elected officials. Conspiracy theories—such as QAnon and the associated “groomer” panic—have radicalized individuals to commit violence, including members of the violent mob that tried to overthrow our free and fair election on Jan. 6. It’s a near certainty that numerous QAnon supporters will be elected to office this November.
If Republicans take control of the political leadership of Congress, which seems likely, they will be beholden to an increasingly radicalized and weaponized base that is fine using violence to “take back their country.”
Meanwhile, Republicans refuse to move against white supremacist terrorism, which is the number one domestic terror threat in the country. Instead their colleagues, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, openly attend conferences hosted by Nick Fuentes—a notorious antisemite and white nationalist. The hoods are off, and there’s no turning back for the GOP.
As a Muslim, I saw President Donald Trump openly say, “I think Islam hates us.” He ran on a promise to enact a “complete and total ban” on Muslims. He was not only elected as president in 2016, but he received 11 million more votes after spending four years doubling down on chaos, hate, xenophobia, and cruelty. History has taught us that when authoritarian movements see people as problems, they usually come up with gruesome and horrific solutions.
It’s tough to love a country that doesn’t love you back, and even tougher to fight for it as it’s trying to kill you.
Unfortunately, the last two years have revealed that the institutions that have the power to respond have repeatedly failed. Media organizations have chosen the path toward self-immolation by rehabilitating their sworn enemies for the sake of profit and ratings. CBS News’ co-president Neeraj Khemlani rationalized the hiring of former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney as a contributor by citing the need for “access” to a likely Republican administration in the future. Most media outlets will fail us as they “both sides” our democracy towards fascism.
Corporations, historically, have always paved the road for fascist leaders, because it’s good for business—until it isn’t. Disney is learning this the hard way after enduring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wrath for balking at his hateful “don’t say gay” policy. That was a warning shot across the bow for all business leaders to get in line or face the GOP boot.
Meanwhile, it’s apparent that most Democrats aren’t built for this challenge. They bring a pencil to a knife fight, while Republicans and Mitch McConnell bring an AR-15. President Biden still refers to Republicans who are committed to obstructing him every step of the way as “rational.” Members of the GOP voted against certifying the election hours after a mob threatening to hang the vice president sacked the Capitol. But some Democrats, especially obstructionists such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, still think we need the filibuster to preserve bipartisanship. Democracy dies, in part, thanks to white moderates who tend to the economic anxiety of “average” Americans while ignoring the lament and cries of the rest of us.
With all this, you can’t blame my father, who’s now in his seventies, for begging me to at least develop an exit plan.
