The American dream is worth fighting for

 

          From: http://usefulbreath.blogspot.com/2017/07/a-city-on-hill-cannot-be-hidden.html 

In 2003 my wife and I decided to emigrate from Venezuela to the U.S. due to the deteriorating political and social conditions in our counttry generated by the authoritarian and corrupt Hugo Chavez regime. We both loved the U.S. where we had studied, worked and lived.  We saw the U.S., as in the words of John Winthrop, later repeated by Ronald Reagan in his farewell speech, as the shing city on the hill:  “a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here”.  We knew  that in the U.S. we could be good citizens and live “in harmony and peace”. This was our American dream.

And for many years, until my unforgettable wife left me, victim of Covid, in july 2020, our dream came true. Although our hearts ached for our country and our people, we found happiness here. We were spared the Venezuelan storm,  only heard the distant thunder.

Today I fear the U.S. is ill, showing some similarities to what has made  Venezuela a terminal case. The social fabric of the nation,  built historically on social solidarity, respect and common sense, qualities that have been the source of its strength, is becoming weaker, while distrust is mounting.  

When I first came to the U.S., in 1950, to study Geology in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the first thing I admired about life in the U.S. was the great level of trust that prevailed in society. My tendency to exaggerate, frequent in our Venezuelan culture, was taken literally. When using colloquial spanish such as : “I have told you a thousand times” my  U.S. school mates looked surprised and  would reply: “A thousand times? You only told me twice!”. 

In Venezuela the level of trust was low, which made social transactions more time consuming and less efficient.  I always remember the day I walked into a bank in Disneyland, California, to cash a check from a New York bank. A smiling  teller dressed as Mickey Mouse paid me without question. In Venezuela I probably would have had to present even my birth certificate to prove my identity. What took me five minutes in Disneyland would have taken me much longer in Venezuela. This simple example, I felt, illustrated the reason why the U.S. society was more developed than ours.   

Today, however, I was noticing symptoms of the U.S. being in danger of becoming seriously ill. What were some of these symptons?

·      An extreme polarization which had invaded most aspects of national life, leading to intolerance and, even, violence. Environment, education, sexual preferences, abortion, gender issues, gun acquisition and carrying regulations, politics, were becoming true battlefields, truth being one of the earliest casualties. People now prefer to be told what reinforces their prejudices, rather than the objective truth, a new, ominous term coined (alternative truth, by Kellyanne Conway). Fox News and CNN now tell their audiences what they  prefer to hear while meaningful interaction has given way to preaching to the converted.

·      Bipartisanship, one of the most positive characteristics of U.S. legislative activity,  is seriously diminished and the vote of conscience has become rare. Even the Supreme Court, historically perceived as independent,  is now subject to charges of political bias and low ethical standards.

·      Ethics are having a difficult time, even at the highest levels of leadership. A proven liar recently elected to Congress, George Santos, has not been punished and is protected by the Speaker of the House since his presence reinforces his party’s majority in the House of Representatives. The sons and daughters of former U.S. president Trump and the son of current president Biden have used the position of their fathers to advance  personal business. At least a member of the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas, has shown disdain for transparency and has allowed his wife to become involved in political  activities which conflict with his position. 

·      Mass shootings are multiplying and now exceed car/traffic accidents as causes of death. More than one mass shooting per day have taken place this year. This trend will continue until better gun control is exercised, a dificult objective to accomplish due to a rigid ideological interpretation of the second constitutional amendment

·      Drug deaths have become epidemic. Nearly 110,000 people died last year in the country due to drug overdoses, a 800% increase in the last 20 years.

·      Personal agendas rather than the national interest seem to be driving presidential pre candidacies. This is the case of former President Donald Trump, who recently said to his followers, see https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5060238/pres-trump-i-justicei-retribution : “I am your warrior, I am your justice… I am your retribution” a statement full of resentment and violence,  totally improper for someone who aspires to lkead a nation.  Current President Joseph Biden is planning to run again in 2024 in spite of his age and of signs of diminishing alertness and stamina for this demanding job.

·      There is a growing trend away from the traditional concept of  a melting pot in which cultural diversity can peacefully coexist  with a strong sense of national identity. Today we witness the emergence of tribes, each one in its own cultural silo, hostile to its neighbor.  Some strong pillars of U.S. society, such as churches, are breaking down due to differences of opinion that have become sources of conflict. For example, the Methodist church is experiencing major disgregation due to conflicting postures on how to deal with same sex marriages. Over 2000 churches have become disafiliated from the central church during the last three years.  

These and other similar diverging trends are eroding the foundations of the nation. As Richard Haass says: “The most urgent and significant threat to American security and stability stems not from abroad but from within”. In his important book, “The Bill of Obligations”, Haass adds that “our very concept of citizenship needs to be revised or better yet,  expanded, if American democracy is to survive”. 

Most of us, who are not born in the U.S., have come to share with the natives the wonderful American. Most of us have been received with generosity and would love to pay back, helping to keep the country socially healthy, reinforcing the qualities of common sense, tolerance and respect for each other that made the U.S. a great nation, as Alexis De Tocqueville described it many years ago.  Many of us who have made the U.S. our home have lived through situations in our native countries that we would not like to see repeated here, because we know they have led to suffering and  ruin.

We want to help this great country to avoid traveling those paths. Our warnings come from love.