America will Reign Supreme

By Saeed Qureshi

The United States of America has always been in making. America is known as the country of immigrants. Never in its history starting from Declaration of Independence in 1776 to this day, has it ever been under monarchy or dictatorship. It was always a democratic country. It is a country of paradoxes and extreme divergences.  

It is the most indebted yet the leading donor nation on planet earth. The 9/11 cataclysmic incident was an unexpected tragedy, yet this nation has learnt invaluable lessons from that. This land is much safer now under a foolproof security system put in place after that earth shaking event.

While living in the United States, I can vouch that despite being under a staggering 16 trillion dollar debt, the domestic socio-cultural life and the living standards of the citizens have remained almost unaffected. The Americans enjoy the same perks and benefits that they have been enjoying for decades. This country sinks for a while and rebounds to the surface with new vigor and vitality.

The law and order is in excellent shape, the courts work with the decorum that is expected of them.  The state institutions function within the framework of paramount national interest and are geared towards the service of the citizens.

The oversight or the accountability is an all encompassing and overarching umbrella over a grocery shops to huge departmental stores to a gigantic manufacturing factory. The taxation and revenue collection known as IRS is more powerful than any other organ of the administration. The tax and revenue collection system can serve a useful model for other countries.

The decision making at every level of governance is through a democratic process that is grueling but certainly betokens the respect for the public opinion. The appointments of the officials in city or county are made with the approval of the citizens. A bureaucrat or the head of department does not have the authority to make appointments on important posts.

 Most of the posts are filled through local elections. The development projects, new houses or offices; be these private or public cannot be launched without the approval of the residents of the respective areas and localities.

In the courts there are rigorous contests and legal bouts between the prosecution and the defense. Yet both the sides have to present their arguments before a panel of jury picked randomly from various sections of the society. The jury has to decide the case in a unanimous yes or no vote. This is truly a grassroots democratic culture and demonstrates that power belongs to the people.

The criminals and outlaws are hunted down and brought to justice finally. The health-care facilities are available for everyone. The jobless are given unemployment allowances, the traffic runs orderly, the roads and lanes are free of dirt. There is no way one can park anywhere or violate traffic signal at free will. These are some of the glowing hallmarks of a civil and administratively well established society.

A country fighting aimless wars in foreign lands for pretty six decades has a meritorious and vibrant society at home. The ethnic divide is sharp but mutually tolerant. The constitution and the laws do not discriminate between the citizens on the basis of color, creed age or sex etc. 

It is a country that takes in maximum number of immigrants every year. This is one country where the dispossessed, traumatized and uprooted people from the oppressive societies stream in every year in huge numbers.

Yet we accuse of this country for blatant human rights violations, target killings through drones and otherwise, intimidation, hegemonic designs and arm-twisting around the world. However those perceptions and priorities are undergoing a transformation within US at the policy making levels

If analyzed in the hindsight, one would tend to believe that if this country professes to be a capitalist country, and its economy based upon the capitalist system, then it has to oppose communism that runs a diametrically opposite economic system with the state ownership of everything produced and distributed.

We have seen the abysmal outcome of the centralized economic systems in the world during the past few decades. The communism miserably failed in the aftermath of the Second World War. Now its upholders mainly Russia and China are half way through shifting over to a traditional capitalist system. 

There is a trend of opening of societies both socially and economically in Russia and China. If this were not so then the largest portion of investment would not been made by the American entrepreneurs in China.

The United States was trenchantly braced against the growing challenge of communism in the aftermath of the Second World War. It was a cold war era that entailed in its wake both economic and military rivalries. In wars fought in the Far East, America suffered one defeat after another.

But finally in Afghanistan it turned the tables on the Soviet Union and scored a decisive and historic victory, although this was made possible through the Muslims guerrillas and Mujahids (crusaders) that fought a war of attrition against the Soviet Union for a decade forcing that military power to leave Afghanistan. America made the second blunder by invading Iraq an egregious highhandedness which cannot be justified by any logic or definition.

But those huge blunders are part of an unbridled militancy and uncalled for propensity for bellicosity may not be repeated by America after stark realization that those were injurious and counterproductive. And look the colossal prices America has to pay. In several wars initiated by America after the Second World War, thousands of American soldiers were killed, many more crippled and the economy overburdened with an astounding debt.

Ironically United States owes most of external debt to a prospective rival of future, the Peoples Republic of China. But it emphatically appears that America’s obsession for distant wars is coming to a close. The United State would not repeat the fallacies of sending its military contingents to wage overseas wars. 

If at all it has to mount any military engagement it would do so by proxy. It means not direct involvement but giving aid and technological and other similar inputs and assistance o the respective countries to fight the terrorists or those perceived to be the enemies of the United States.

The United States has set an admirable example of the establishment of facilitating democratic dispensations in the totalitarian regimes in the Middle East thus embracing those oppressive societies with the fragrance of Arab spring. That historic transformation could be made possible with the help of the United States.

One can reckon that the United States would not wage a war or even allow Israel for preemptive attacks on Iran as that would be disastrous as witnessed in case of such wars during the past several decades. That would be a last straw on the camel's back for the dwindling American economy and cutting across its new role of a sincere facilitator for the world peace.

The Obama administration that has taken an incredible yet most sagacious decision of recalling the American forces from both Iraq and Afghanistan would not launch a fresh military adventure against Iran. President Obama is more riveted on research, space exploration, better education, healthcare for all  and growth of economy and modernizing of the aging infrastructures by diverting funds from wars to such vital priorities.

There is no gainsaying that 9/11 and the measures taken thereafter have made America definitively a safer place and one can rule out any incident of similar nature ever in future. It is expected that with the time passage the condign conditions imposed on traveling and rigorous background checks or harsh racial proofing would be softened. Hopefully, the great and free American society with pleasant hallmarks of liberty, freedom and openness would bounce back.

The United States after massive upheavals and rude shock waves generated by scores of wars, involvement in making and breaking regimes, and posing as a bully state and delineating between friendly and unfriendly states would now embark upon turning the world into an abode of peace and fraternity among the nations. With China it should act more as partner for a better world than falling back upon belligerency and warfare.

With a formidable paradigm shift that is now taking place in the United States both externally and domestically, America with its enormous wealth and astounding resources and overarching clout, is to reemerge as the world leader. 

It is destined to reign supreme as a humane and righteous world leader. It has the capacity and resources to transform the earth into the kingdom of God where peace, human dignity and welfare for all the inhabitants prevail. A monumental change is in the offing.