What a time to witness when a majority of the country feels they are afraid of countrymen in 2021. After the violent attack on the US Capitol to challenge the democratic process, a recent poll by YouGov shown in the CBS News Channel Face The Nation, shows that today Americans feel their biggest threat is Americans.
The poll reveals a very dark side of a country that is divided by race, religion, ethnicity, economic status & yet is looked upon by the rest of the world as a big-brother, standing up for freedom & what is right! This has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world – from prior allies to other foreign threats.
In the poll, Americans today said the biggest threat comes from inside the country, from “other people in America, and domestic enemies.” Contrary to what many other countries in the world would have polled, to average Americans, foreign threats & economic turmoil take very low priority against co-existing freely with other Americans.
At this moment in Jan 2021, US has the highest number of Covid deaths in the world, with deaths as of Jan 2021 3rd week close to 400,000 in the country. The virus has disproportionately affected population of color, with the most harshly hit being the African American & Latino communities.
Yet, a very large part of the community even today feels entitled to set science aside, protest wearing masks, abuse & bully those who put on masks in public places and does not hesitate to show their anger & violence on people who might easily contract the virus.
The economy could not have been worse & government is still pushing in trillions of dollars in relief bills to sustain families adversely affected in the economic collapse. Millions of tax payer dollars were spent in the democratic process of electing a new leader & millions of more dollars spent over a month challenging the election with the intent of invalidating the outcomes.
As if that was not enough, after the terrible attack on democracy in the US that ended in Americans killing & harming Americans, today, the government has to pour in thousands of armed forces just to protect Americans from Americans. More tax payer money will be spent on investigations into the attack & subsequent legal proceedings.
In a country that has suddenly fallen extensively in love with guns & military style automatic weapons to owned, carried & publicly displayed by a portion of the community, it might seem funny to people who see these scenes of violence & protests in other parts of the world that have not only celebrated democracy & freedom for hundreds of years but have also never found the need to bring military armor to the civil life.
The easiest way I could explain these images to a lot of my friend in other parts of the world that these are old guys who simply love costumes & cosplay! They dress up in military clothes and pretend they are fighting. But when the FBI comes for them, they hide in fear.
However, the same polls does have a bright side. Of the people polled, a slight majority is hopeful that the country will bounce back. Obviously, the slight majority has managed to avoid the volumes of lies, system brainwashing by media outlets like the Fox Networks & a strong conviction in the powers of democracy.
Amongst this glimmer of hope are also those who braved their jobs & did what is right, keeping true to their conscience and to the US Constitution. Freedom & democracy has always won over authoritarianism, dictatorship & tyranny – that is a historical fact. It is just a matter of time. And it will take time but America will come out strong again.