America is like a beautiful, shining, giant magnet to all the people who live in countries where the conditions for improvement are less favorable than in America, which is everywhere else in the world. And, therefore, if Americans wish to maintain their country only for those who are already there, they have to try to improve the living conditions of people in the rest of the world.
I think that General Marshall realized this, when he devised the Marshall Plan to reconstruct the economies of the countries which had been devastated by World War II. If he had not done so, there would have been a tsunami of immigrants from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Japan to the U.S., which would have had ill effects.
The Americans have a problem with illegal immigration on the Mexican border, because the living conditions in Mexico are inferior to the conditions in the Unites States. There is no such problem on the Canadian border. The reason is obvious. Canadians are happy where they are. Ergo, if America wants people to stay where they are, they should do something to improve their living conditions. Does America have an obligation to do this? Does it have a duty? Of course not, but it would be in its own self interest. Enlightened, perhaps.
The Islamic countries are not poor. They are oil rich but, the riches are concentrated in small groups at the top of their societies. The majority of the rest of the populations are in varying degrees of deprivation. Still. The deprived people of Islamic countries are not clamoring to go to America. They are taught to hate America by their religious leaders. They don’t want to enjoy the wonderful things that America offers, which everyone else craves. They want to destroy America. But, the children of Islam would like to improve their living conditions, which will never happen under the regimes that rule them. Can’t they see that what they need is a change of government? Democracy, perhaps. They need to be awakened. Who will awaken them?
Belize and other small countries in the Western Hemisphere are captivated by America. Its influence on these little democracies is irresistible and pervasive. At least half of the population of Belize would like to become Americans. About a quarter of them already have. These countries are like tiny vessels traveling and being pulled along in the wake of a ship, ten times larger than the Titanic – the S.S. America.
Those of us who stayed at home have been and still are the benefactors of America’s good will and largesse. We have a lot to be grateful for to America. On the other hand, the U.S. State Department dictates to us. For example, they are responsible for the laws prohibiting certain drugs, considered to be harmful. In its desire to please, our government has gone overboard and taken away our “presumption of innocence” in drug cases.
There is an election for the presidency coming up in America and the eyes of the whole world are riveted on the campaigns of the two political parties which have ruled America from the birth of the first and greatest democracy in history.
At the same time, cataclysmic events are taking place in America’s economy, which is teetering on the brink of an unthinkable collapse. Not to worry. The same economic experts responsible for the situation say that the market forces will sort things out without any government intervention. They opine that the system is like a self balancing account: all will work out in the end. The Mighty Sparrow would say it is capitalism gone mad. Common sense would suggest that either there is something seriously wrong with the system, or there has been fraud on a massive scale, or gross neglect in the exercise of fiscal control. Or, all three.
The election will determine the direction that America will take in its domestic and foreign policies, which Americans believe is nobody’s business but their own. Except that, America is not an island. What applies to individuals, enunciated so well by John Donne, applies also to nations, however large and powerful.
The whole world awaits with bated breath. Will the voters of America choose the status quo, or will they decide in favour of renewal and change? If they decide in favour of the former, then it would be against the order of nature, because there can be no renewal or growth without change.
On a final note, it is very puzzling to see that many Americans still have faith in the theories of economic experts which have failed all the business corporations which relied on them. According to Mr. Bill Lindo, the economist LaRouche predicted years ago that the world financial structure would fall, and what has happened to Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac seems to prove him right. It stands to reason that now the man to listen to and follow his advice is LaRouche.