Domestic disasters fuel US fury
No jobs program from either party despite tens of millions unemployed, and an uncontrolled COVID crisis leave Americans reeling, writes Randall Doyle
THE events of this week have left most Americans numb and in a state of disbelief. And today the grim realities that loom over the United States are undiminished. This is going to be a very ugly winter, and there is no panacea or respite just over the horizon. Like a once great heavyweight champion of the world, the American Empire finds itself dazed and staggered from domestic blows emanating from every corner of America.
The US Capitol building, the centrepiece and citadel of American democracy, was invaded by thousands of angry President Trump supporters who pulled off a remarkable, well co-ordinated insurrection. That is the word for what occurred on live television.
Needless to say, the nation gasped at the sight of our elected leaders running for their lives. Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who represents the 38th congressional district in California, admitted during a live interview on national TV (from a secured location) that she had called her husband to make sure he could locate her last will and testament, in case she did not come out alive. She was not the only one to make such a call. Fear and panic had engulfed Capitol Hill.
A crowd of about 40,000 gathered between the Nation’s Capital and the Washington Monument. They heard President Trump once again say he was the victim of a stolen election; and Trump stated they needed to have their voices heard by the US Congress — who were in the process of confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Instead, all hell broke loose. Thousands overwhelmed a small Capitol Hill police force and stormed into the US Senate and the US House of Representatives chambers. Scores of rioters broke into congressional offices, including the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This was no surprise because at their midday rally, several signs said Pelosi was “evil”.
There are some disturbing indications this might have been an inside job. The District of Columbia police were almost non-existent. And the government itself was very slow in responding to this violent takeover of the Capitol Building. Americans, and the nation’s media, asked throughout the day where the hell were the local police and the national guard. Both only showed up in force when the District of Columbia mayor imposed a 6pm curfew for the Capitol Hill district. Until then, the mob had almost carte blanche of the entire Capitol Building.
Millions of Americans watched in stunned silence. Perhaps many wanted to believe it was a scene out of a Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy political thriller. It was not.
After the initial shock, the corporate media went back to its old habits. They interpreted everything through the prism of personalities and politics. President Trump, and US senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, the other co-instigators of this disgraceful and humiliating event, and near catastrophe. Political futures and legacies were dissected and analysed. No one wanted to ask about the real reasons for the insurrection that struck like a category-5 hurricane.
To be blunt, tens of millions of Americans are angry, disillusioned and fed up with American politics and the US government. They have lost faith in the political system. And they find the efficacy of the US government stunningly and totally underwhelming.
Why? Because America has been totally dominated and intimidated by a trifecta of domestic crises.
First, about 70 million Americans have applied for unemployment assistance since March. More than 700,000 have applied for unemployment aid every week for nine months. An estimated 50 million are unemployed, underemployed or have dropped out of the workforce. Yet there has been no jobs programs proposed by either party. Incredible but true.
Second, the COVID-19 crisis in America is completely out of control. Period. No one in any state government, or the federal government, has publicly admitted to such a reality. On the day the capital was under siege, more than 3800 Americans died from the virus. A new record high. This story went unreported. Yet we are rapidly approaching 400,000 dead. To make things more complicated and dangerous, a new variant has been detected in US hospitals; and a third strain diagnosed in South Africa. Exhausted medical personnel are barely hanging on in America.
Finally, the vaccination program has been a disaster. President Trump declared that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated by the end of December. Fewer than five million have received treatment. Thousands of health-care workers have refused to be vaccinated due to deep-seated mistrust of the US government and Big Pharma.
This is not a political thriller movie. In fact, it feels more like one of those 1970s disaster movies, The Towering Inferno or The Poseidon Adventure. The American Empire is dealing with a dangerous trifecta of domestic crises. These events and others, domestic and foreign, have shown the world how truly vulnerable America is.
America’s vaunted selfsense of exceptionalism has now morphed into a deep sense of American anxiety and trepidation.