The United States of America recently celebrated its 242nd Independence Day on July 4, from British colonial rule. During these 242 years, the American way of life has been something of a phenomenon, which other nations have tried to replicate. Their military, economic, and social values were ideals to be taught and practised. Their democracy was looked upon with awe, their technological innovation was mesmerising and their social values were regarded as the beacon of modern civilisation.
However, the USA is on a downward trajectory — and this has been the trend for some time now. While they still encompass military and economic might, their social values are becoming unacceptable, archaic, and dreadful.
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, a prominent French diplomat to the USA, as well as a political scientist and historian in the 19th Century.
Today, protectionism, conservative policies, and a disregard for fundamental human rights, is contributing to the country’s downfall on the world stage. America is therefore, ceasing to be a great country because these three policies have had widespread negative repercussions.
Trump’s America is becoming isolated and is despised even by its own allies, including Germany, Canada, and other member states of the European Union. In an effort to protect its own narrow interests at the expense of collective objectives, the Trump administration imposed heavy tariffs on some of its own allies. Amidst rampant globalisation and an increasing global identity, this was a repugnant act criticised by many.
This type of protectionism and similar objectionable policies has convinced European countries to turn their back on their American ally. “It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us… Europe must take its destiny in its own hands,” said Angela Merkel. This is a sentiment that certainly resonates in most European state capitals and well beyond European shores as well.
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, a prominent French diplomat to the USA. These words have never been truer than in the current day and age
Moreover, the special relationship between Britain and the USA is also in tatters because the British public vehemently opposes a state visit from Trump. Every effort is being made to deny President Trump the honour and courtesy of a state visit due to his ill-conceived social views. From the House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, to Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary — there has been a widespread, cross-party consensus that state visits should only be afforded to honourable people, a category that Donald J. Trump doesn’t fit into.
Domestically, the situation isn’t any better. Amnesty International, for instance, has listed a number of concerns that contravene and breach the spirit and requirements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights due to President Trump’s controversial, conservative policies.
Most notably, refugees’ and migrants’ rights are being relentlessly violated through the recent family-separation strategy at the Mexican border, the enforcement of a Muslim ban and making it nearly impossible for asylum seekers to successfully seek refuge in the country and thereby, attain the glorified American Dream.
The situation isn’t any better for women in the country. Initiatives that allowed women to check whether they were being paid the same amount of money for the same amount of effort as their male colleagues have been terminated; this essentially makes it almost impossible for women to identify a situation where they are being paid less and then eventually do something to change it.
From an international perspective, the leader of the free world has gone from being the protector of human rights to one of the most hostile regimes in the Western world.
US Ambassador to the United Nation Nikki Haley’s decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council illustrates that the country is no longer concerned about human rights on the international stage. Selfish political interests matter more to the American administration than civil liberties and rights.
This has also been proven by Trump’s grandiose praise for leaders with a shady and questionable human rights record, such as, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Kim Jong-un of North Korea and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.
Trump’s poison has trumped America’s values, which means that it no longer has the moral high ground to tell other countries how they should arrange their own affairs.
The writer is the author of Diary of a Foreigner: Thoughts on Brexit. He tweets at @muhammedRaza786 and can be contacted at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, July 10th 2018.