I left my native country long time ago and settled down in the Promised Land, the USA. There were many reasons for me to leave my country. The country was ruled by the incompetent rulers who often blackmailed the masses by their inflammatory speeches and had no vision for the country. The public was also plagued by the religious fervor and bigotry that discouraged critical thinking and constantly attacked science and logic. The crony capitalism, brutal feudalism and the most corrupt bureaucracy concentrated the wealth of the nation in few hands and this created a vast gap between the haves and have-nots. The military regularly overthrew the civil governments and the generals not only ruled with absolute power but also built a huge military industrial complex. The judiciary was also the culprits in ruining the country. The country was deeply divided on the basis of religious affiliations, languages, ethnicities and provincialism. It was a hopeless situation and there was no end in sight, therefore, I left.
I found my adopted country truly a promised land. Besides being a vast land, it was united like a rock. One language was spoken all over the country. The science and technology were the dominant factors that made the country great. The political system was smooth and fair. The ruling and the opposing parties found common grounds and passed legislations for the good of the country. The religions had no business in the state affairs and remained confined within the worshiping places. I hardly heard the names of the generals who commanded the military. I was also impressed by the rights of the citizens and the professionalism of the Police and other law enforcing agencies. The thriving capitalism provided decent wages, labor rights and equal opportunities for the citizens. I saw many elections and fierce competition among the contenders but never heard of any voices of fraud and irregularities in our election process. The traces of corruption and nepotism were always there but the hands of the laws were also far reaching. Once caught, even a president had to resign. Before the emergence of the cable news, the media was trusted by the people and I never heard anyone criticizing ABC, CBS, NBC or PBS. In this environment, I chased my American dream and lived a successful life.
Sadly, I have been noticing a gradual decline in American values for the last two decades. In my humble view, America is suffering from self inflicted wounds. It is appalling to see her glorious infra structure crumbling, the political system plaguing by the huge influx of money, the media lacking intelligence and depth in its news broadcast. It is heart breaking to see that a significant population of the country denies science and looks into the scriptures to solve the worldly problems. The military generals are becoming more and more prominent and are chosen for the important civil positions after their retirement. The mutual trust and respect are vanishing between the ordinary citizens and the law enforcing personnel.
The outcome of this recent election does not look promising either. I see many similarities here that prompted me to leave my native country and I am worried. It is still a powerful country and the impact of these changes would be gradual, nonetheless, lethal in the long run. These are the warnings:
· It is the science and technology that made America great. Why this onslaught on science?
· The religion must remain an individual affair. It should not interfere in state’s matters. Why do we patronize religions by giving religious institutions tax exemptions without any auditing?
· The country must remain united in one color. It is absurd to have blue or red states. The political system must be reformed to get rid of this division.
· The over patronization of our military and the law enforcing agencies is contradictory to democracy. They remain the daughters and the sons of this nation even if they wear a uniform. They must be friends not the masters of the people. The citizens must also respect them since they put their lives in dangers to protect all of us.
· The concentration of wealth in few hands is an alarming situation that threatens the security and the harmony of the country. The money also corrupts our government.
· The resentment against the government is a senseless and harmful exercise. It exposes the bigotry of those politicians who want to be part of the government by criticizing the government.
· Our education system must be reformed to inflict some sense of purpose into the lives of our youngsters. Just to prepare them for an economic ambition is a shallow ambition. Some character building is necessary in our curriculum to make our students better citizens of this planet. The addiction to drugs and alcohol can be avoided if we teach them the benefits of a collective society. American society should not be a “lonely crowd”. It should be a harmonious crowd responsible for the betterment of this planet.
· Globalization is the reality of our time. Instead of being protectionist, we should compete with the world. If we are innovative and produce better products, we would do well.
· The people with successful career, broad vision and high moral character must participate in politics and run for the positions in our elections. We must also vote for the talented and upright people without any party affiliation. Most importantly, we must not dislike politics and vote promptly.
Wake up America. I am your adopted son and always wish you well.