Comment | This elderly America no longer inspires anyone

Not too long ago, America was a young country. A brief history, the energy of a young man, a place to grow in every way. A country that has managed to rid itself of its hateful racist heritage. Socially and physically mobile. If you don’t like it, you’ve gone elsewhere. Lots of variety. Reinventing yourself is an American specialty.

In this America, the presidents were young. Theodore Roosevelt’s boundless energy, his cousin Franklin’s tenacity. Richard Nixon, a young Californian, was Dwight Eisenhower’s vice president, who in his sixties was considered incongruously old. John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama: politically diverse but representatives of that young, dynamic America. The great Ronald Reagan was a great actor who could portray the nation’s youth.

It was then. Last Thursday, the two old white men gave not for a moment the impression that there was any life force left in this country for an hour and a half. An old man lied about everything and couldn’t get a positive word out of his mouth. The other old man was grunting, ready to fall at any moment. Nor does it provide perspective. The only thing ‘controversial’ was posting about their golf handicap on this obscene reality TV show.

loose sand

You can wave all this away – say Biden and Trump are two self-righteous old men. Narcissism is of two types.

But it doesn’t end there. What we saw was an adequate reflection of a prematurely old, underpowered country. The inhabitants are not necessarily narcissists, but a country that mainly cares about themselves. They complain and wallow in self-pity, or they float on super incomes through a society they don’t have much connection to. Outside of these two extremes, everyone is mainly concerned with themselves or their group. Nothing and no one can connect anymore. It’s a community that hangs together like loose sand.

Attachment systems that no longer function for a federal state, or vice versa, create inequality and division. Congress has not really achieved anything because one person rejects what the other proposes. Compromise was forbidden. A lasting problem is better than someone else’s success.

The Party of Lincoln has become a cult, led by a pathological liar who demands and receives dog loyalty. A party consisting of Yale and Harvard graduates fiancee– Populists act against the elites themselves, only to maintain their elite power. Where religious zealots promote undesirable evangelical nationalism. Where there are violent racists to stand to stand

The party of Kennedy, Clinton and Obama is so busy with its sub-groups, its finesse and correct forms, that it forgets that the majority of the country – its primary target group – is concerned with survival. A party of progressives with Harvard and Princeton degrees formed a government without listening to who they were working for. No wonder Congress has historically lacked influence.

The choice between these fatally handicapped candidates is deeply saddening

The Supreme Court, supposed to be a body of maturity and oversight protecting the American republic from itself, has become politicized. The justices, committed to the conservative interpretive ideology that was a condition of their appointment, set aside precedents and rule against the wishes of the majority of the American people. As slavery was once decided at that level, they leave important issues to individual states. The power of judges has declined.

The ultimate unifying unit in the American political system has always been the president, the only person elected by all Americans. Losers always accepted the results. Although they had their doubts, they were committed to the process. By continuing to contest the 2020 outcome, Republicans have undermined the president’s legitimacy for all Americans. Those who believe lies can only hate others. Those who see through lies can only hate liars. Unity is an illusion.

Slow and threatening

It’s not about Trump and Biden. Even if a higher power intervenes and both men breathe their last tomorrow, it will resolve little. The rot is very deep. America is no longer young. The country was once vibrant, fresh and exciting, but now it is dull and dreary. Like those old men.

Of course, you can overestimate the importance of politics. Most Americans don’t care about that, yet express their displeasure, their powerlessness. Shocked to see their aged looking country. They see a world superpower, which is no longer there swagger No moral power and self-confidence American Century.

The world noticed. No wonder Russia, Israel, Iran and China care little about this US. Less power. Biden is painfully helpless in Israel. Putin is counting his blessings. China continues. The US-made and led world order is no longer an order. The United States itself stands aloof from it. Protectionism and isolationism do not refer to the dark past but are the policies of today and tomorrow. No matter who the president is.

Not that America is weak in an absolute sense. It is not certain that China will invade Taiwan tomorrow, the US will leave NATO, or Putin will attack a NATO country.

No, the point is that the US no longer promotes. That’s what makes this choice between two dangerously disabled candidates so sad. It is feared that the country will need a shock from within or from outside. The harsh truth is that the Trump-Biden duo is a perfect representation of where America stands at the moment.

To share




Email the editor