In four months, America has achieved isolation. It has also achieved nothing much of note. The domestic economy is a shambles. Trade is a mess. The health system is on life support. Even crime, the national sport, is getting crowded out of the news.
The American Dream has been replaced by the rather shoddy American Psychosis. What a coincidence.
Let’s look at a few subjects for reassurance.
Government. You don’t have one. You have an administration that can’t function due to layoffs and loss of expertise.
Groceries. You won’t have any. Not at this rate. US shoppers were reported last month as buying groceries on the buy now, pay later scheme. Yep, you can put down a down payment on that Dorito for your grandchildren now. They’ll probably need somewhere to live, anyway.
Press Freedom. You don’t have any. According to the World Press Freedom Index, the US ranked 57th in the world. That really means that nobody feels under any obligation to even imitate a free press. Feel better now? How would you know?
Education. You don’t have any. You won’t for a while. It doesn’t really matter because you can’t afford it anyway. Accreditations have been made “easier”. That just means breakfast cereals have more opportunities for prizes in their packets. Now, convince yourself that ignorance is bliss. Meanwhile, try getting a job anywhere on Earth with duly accredited confetti.
Health? Doesn’t even need mentioning.
Housing. Ditto.
Fentanyl. Don’t even get downwind of that garbage. Fentanyl, otherwise known as “organized crime’s retirement plan for America,” is now being imported in record amounts. A dandruff-size speck of this stuff can kill you, and it’s being imported in 400kg batches. What, not enough dead people?
Rent. You don’t and won’t ever have enough. Most Americans are renters. Rentals are continuing their rise, killing Main Street more or less every month. Rents and the cost of living have effectively disappeared from the headlines. Nobody’s even suggesting stopping the rises. Are you great enough yet?
Violence. You can’t get enough of it. According to Pew Research, the last year for which stats are complete is 2023. Hard to say why that is, because the numbers should be on the books instantly every year. Unless America has gone back to clay tablets, that is. The numbers aren’t great.
Some US states have death rates “comparable” to war zones. Overall stats are slightly down, but that may be because there are so many other ways of dying now, like slow death by poverty, etc. Suicide is now more common than murder for gun crimes. Happy, O Mighty Ineffectual Slobs?
Wealth. You probably don’t have any. Wealth is distributed at the top and creates enclaves of the rich amid the medieval serfs. A million bucks keeps your head more or less above water, for now. Add 25% to the costs of living, and it doesn’t.
Foreign relations. The penguins are winning. Foreign relations are at the Christmas card level or much worse. The US, like the UK before it, is simply not a place to do business anymore for some reason. Any actions against Canada, Greenland, or anyone else will make the tariff-generated disasters look positively friendly.
Meanwhile, the world has better things to do than indulge this madness.
Get your butts in gear and back into the 21st century with the rest of the world.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
