American dream has gone sour
Why is President Donald Trump turning a nation of immigrants against the world? Banning citizens of seven countries from entering the United States is no way to build bridges with the global order. But Trump being Trump, why build bridges when he has made it his business to erect walls for which countries like Mexico will have to pay? It was an election promise that he intends to keep, his team proclaims. Then he wants to do deals like a businessman — a ‘fair deal’ for the US by putting ‘America first’. That’s grossly unfair when one looks at it from the other side. Under the administration’s new immigration policy, people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya will be shunned by the US; banned for three months “until we figure out what’s going on”. This was part of the election rhetoric when the building tycoon was campaigning to be president last year. He’s a man of his word, his acolytes proudly say. Others wonder why. For the record, no Syrian or Libyan has been held responsible for a terror attack in recent history in the United States. But Trump seems unruffled as he wades from one controversy to another. He loves the attention he bags when he signs those executive orders with a flourish at the Oval Office. The president earlier also talked of extreme vetting of people from three countries in an interview to a TV channel.
Now for the reasons why the Trump administration is wary of people from these Muslim-majority countries. America under Trump has lost faith in itself, and has therefore become distrustful of visitors. Trump forgets that his country was built on global talent — and dreams that we all share. On faith, freedom and fraternity. Being American encompassed everything else. It didn’t matter where one came from. Race and religion held no value if one had a dynamic dream, however distant, to pursue. Settlers from England began the process for the country’s tryst with migrants centuries ago. Others followed. The USA today is a melting pot of cultures and ideas. For a businessman-president like Trump who cares little for statesmanship, this is simply about nurturing a constituency of voters who brought him to office. The rest of America and the world can put their dreams on hold and learn to live with the bad deal the president has to offer.