2018: Will America remain a beacon of hope? ( George Abraham)
Published on 01 January, 2019
Another eventful year has quickly passed on. We are once again on the threshold of a new year, a time to introspect and make new resolutions. I have been living in the U.S. for the last 50 years. To be specific, I have arrived on these shores in the fall of 1968. It was a time of great political upheaval across the country. Students at almost every University were protesting the War in Vietnam and expressing their disgust over the draft. The Presidential elections were weeks away and Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey were the opposing candidates fighting to win the highest office in the land.
Despite all the turmoil in the streets and around campuses, foreign students like me were looking forward to a life of learning and opportunities... there was a sense of optimism about the country and its future. Notwithstanding the Cold War challenges abroad, America remained the pre-eminent power house, a land of freedom and innovation. The capitalist system and the market economy the nation championed brought unprecedented growth and prosperity to its citizens. While the countries that implemented socialist models or centralized planning either failed or made slow progress, the American political and economic system provided stability and steady growth. Its dynamism and energy in setting up goals and achieving them were unparalleled in history and the people around the world started paying close attention. It was America everyone wanted to learn about as it became the frontier for many from developing nations to explore.
Therefore, I am quite bewildered to see the young people of today are clamoring for a socialist model that has been experimented with and failed many times. This new movement includes children of the last generation of Indian immigrants who are gaining political traction in the arena. I am beginning to wonder what they have learned from their parents! Previous generations of immigrants came to this country, rolled up their sleeves and worked hard and realized their American dream. I believe that dream is still attainable, though it is getting harder, for this generation as well - if they put their minds into it.
Today, the global situation has dramatically changed with more demand for resources among America’s strategic partners and competitors. This nation is also quicklypiling up debt with no end in sight. If America was any other country today, it would be knocking at the door of the IMF for debt relief. What saves America today is that special status for the US dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency as a result of the Bretton Woods agreement. That enables countries to buy the U.S. debt and allow U.S. to keep on printing the money.
Undoubtedly, America is living beyond its means. On this trajectory, there will come a day of reckoning and it will only be a matter of time before a country like China not only catches up with U.S. but may even surpass it in terms GDP as well as innovation in science and technologies. In that scenario, whose treasury securities will be in demand?
I recollect a story a German national told me about how Germany became a power house in engineering and manufacturing of quality products like in Automobiles and heavy machinery. After the industrial revolution, England was the epicenter of manufacturing and Trade. However, as the number of colonies grew, the brightest of its young people were sent abroad to administer territories controlled by the British Empire. Therefore, they have decided to outsource many of the products manufacturing to Germany and the rest is history. For many of us who are skeptical of the quality of Chinese products now, the British history is a good lesson to learn from.
Indian Americans already have a number of legislators in the upper echelons of the power centers at the Capitol. Their parents came from the middle class or upper middle class family background in India who were impatient with the political system and slow growth economics of the country and decided to venture out. With all its deficiencies, America was still the shining city on the hill and a place where their skillset and dynamism would eventually prove to be a bonanza where they built successful families with top-notch education for their children. Now, these same young people appear to be repudiating the very system that has helped them to succeed and become influential voices in this country.
In the United States, what we are witnessing is an unprecedented level of polarization on the basis of race and culture. The leadership appears to be only exploiting those negative sentiments rather than healing the wounds. The new immigrants tend to push the narrative that their language, culture, and traditions are more sacrosanct and need immediate recognition and acceptance from the majority community. The very idea of ‘melting pot’ has given away to ‘balkanization’ based on identity politics. Unless this trend is reversed, the United States may be in danger of becoming another third world nation with warring factions always on the prowl.
I hope and pray that there will be great healing across the globe so that current divisions and conflicts come to an end. The warring factions in America ought to sit down together and resolve issues with a focus on keeping the nation still a beacon for the rest of world that promotes freedom, liberty and pursuit of happiness. For India, I am looking forward to a verdict of the people in 2019 that may restore real democracy to the nation so that the country could get back to the business of uplifting the poor, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for all its citizens!.
Wishing you a very happy and peaceful New Year!
(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations)
Despite all the turmoil in the streets and around campuses, foreign students like me were looking forward to a life of learning and opportunities... there was a sense of optimism about the country and its future. Notwithstanding the Cold War challenges abroad, America remained the pre-eminent power house, a land of freedom and innovation. The capitalist system and the market economy the nation championed brought unprecedented growth and prosperity to its citizens. While the countries that implemented socialist models or centralized planning either failed or made slow progress, the American political and economic system provided stability and steady growth. Its dynamism and energy in setting up goals and achieving them were unparalleled in history and the people around the world started paying close attention. It was America everyone wanted to learn about as it became the frontier for many from developing nations to explore.
Therefore, I am quite bewildered to see the young people of today are clamoring for a socialist model that has been experimented with and failed many times. This new movement includes children of the last generation of Indian immigrants who are gaining political traction in the arena. I am beginning to wonder what they have learned from their parents! Previous generations of immigrants came to this country, rolled up their sleeves and worked hard and realized their American dream. I believe that dream is still attainable, though it is getting harder, for this generation as well - if they put their minds into it.
Today, the global situation has dramatically changed with more demand for resources among America’s strategic partners and competitors. This nation is also quicklypiling up debt with no end in sight. If America was any other country today, it would be knocking at the door of the IMF for debt relief. What saves America today is that special status for the US dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency as a result of the Bretton Woods agreement. That enables countries to buy the U.S. debt and allow U.S. to keep on printing the money.
Undoubtedly, America is living beyond its means. On this trajectory, there will come a day of reckoning and it will only be a matter of time before a country like China not only catches up with U.S. but may even surpass it in terms GDP as well as innovation in science and technologies. In that scenario, whose treasury securities will be in demand?
I recollect a story a German national told me about how Germany became a power house in engineering and manufacturing of quality products like in Automobiles and heavy machinery. After the industrial revolution, England was the epicenter of manufacturing and Trade. However, as the number of colonies grew, the brightest of its young people were sent abroad to administer territories controlled by the British Empire. Therefore, they have decided to outsource many of the products manufacturing to Germany and the rest is history. For many of us who are skeptical of the quality of Chinese products now, the British history is a good lesson to learn from.
Indian Americans already have a number of legislators in the upper echelons of the power centers at the Capitol. Their parents came from the middle class or upper middle class family background in India who were impatient with the political system and slow growth economics of the country and decided to venture out. With all its deficiencies, America was still the shining city on the hill and a place where their skillset and dynamism would eventually prove to be a bonanza where they built successful families with top-notch education for their children. Now, these same young people appear to be repudiating the very system that has helped them to succeed and become influential voices in this country.
In the United States, what we are witnessing is an unprecedented level of polarization on the basis of race and culture. The leadership appears to be only exploiting those negative sentiments rather than healing the wounds. The new immigrants tend to push the narrative that their language, culture, and traditions are more sacrosanct and need immediate recognition and acceptance from the majority community. The very idea of ‘melting pot’ has given away to ‘balkanization’ based on identity politics. Unless this trend is reversed, the United States may be in danger of becoming another third world nation with warring factions always on the prowl.
I hope and pray that there will be great healing across the globe so that current divisions and conflicts come to an end. The warring factions in America ought to sit down together and resolve issues with a focus on keeping the nation still a beacon for the rest of world that promotes freedom, liberty and pursuit of happiness. For India, I am looking forward to a verdict of the people in 2019 that may restore real democracy to the nation so that the country could get back to the business of uplifting the poor, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for all its citizens!.
Wishing you a very happy and peaceful New Year!
(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations)
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There is no hope for America or anyone else with Trump at it's helm
"Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called President Donald Trump an "amoral" person and said he's "the worst President we've ever had" in an interview with The New York Times Magazine published Wednesday.
Trump's idea of building a wall is absurd. A wall has never worked between two countries. The great Chinese wall is now a tourist attraction, and not to separate two countries. The party of Ronald Regan famous for his words "Bring that wall down" about the Berlin wall now supporting the building of a wall is pure hypocrisy. The land belongs to God, the creator of the land. God gave the land to different people groups in history. A wall can't prevent it. It is a waste of tax payer money and time and energy. Trump has played on our own insecurities and fears to come to power and stay in power.
It is a generally accepted principle that for you to sleep in peace, make sure that your neighbor is not hungry. Help the Latin Americans with a reasonable standard of living so that there won't be any need for them come. Instead, we exploited them by involving there politically all these years in our self interest. There is no need for a wall between Canada and USA as this political exploitation didn't happen in the north, as USA identified with them as one people. If we Indians were in the south of USA we would have been the biggest illegals here. Take any people group and place them there including the Americans. If we were in their place we would have done the same thing to cross over illegally. It is human nature as we want to give a better standard of living for our family.
Many a times it is our own fear and insecurities that shape our opinions- fear of people that look different from us, talk a different language or think different from us. Those who fear Latin Americans, it is probable that they do not have a close friend or relative from such groups. So it is misunderstanding and fear of them that make them think negatively of them. Solution is try to understand them by becoming close friends with a few of them. Then you will find that they are also human beings trying to take care of their family. If any other country in place of Latin American countries, including we Americans, we would have been the biggest illegals here. They are trying to take care of their family.
The Judeo-Christian principles are the basis of American Constitution. Nowhere in Bible God asked to create a border wall around the country. People were free to move from one country to another to settle in it. God commanded that such foreigners and natives must have the same rule and they should not be discriminated. Walls were allowed around cities and houses. Those walls were not helpful in giving security as you see from history. God was supposed to be their security. “If God does not keep the city safe, the keepers work in vain (Bible). So do not believe in the security that Trump offers. I am not against a country taking all means for its safety including defense. That needs to be within applicable law. USA has every right to prevent illegals coming here. The illegals that come here offer them a hearing and deport them if necessary. The illegals come here, work here, pay taxes to the local government, and they contribute to the GDP of our country. Some conveniently forget their contributions and see the negative only when they criticize them. In this modern age also nations have the right to decide who come here and stay here. They can prevent criminals from coming here. But a person want to come here, work here and live here peacefully every country should allow that. As far as possible we need to live in peace with our neighbors. When a wall is created the consequence arising from it can be implemented by a police state only. The cost of becoming a police state will be much more. It is better to live in peace with neighbor. With a police state the Latin Americans here legally can turn to violence when their family is treated with force. Are we ready for a police state as in Israel? If somebody did a crime he/she needs to be punished. Crime happens always. Wall can't prevent it.
If you find your security in Trump's policies it is your choice. I do not. Having a wall around your house is not the same as having a wall around a country. In human relationships and friendship between cultures and nations it builds walls and can lead to future wars to demolish the wall. What claim you have on the land you live in? Did you create it to say that it is your own. The land belongs to God and God just give it on lease to you to hold on to it. God gave it to different cultures at different period of time as you learn from history. Nobody can prevent it. God is against building wall around a country.
I stated how I see things. Some of the readers might not agree with me. It is your choice how you want to see things. As time moves on we all change our positions as our experience change. So let us agree to disagree and still be friends. With a wall, the life will here will be tense with your neighbor as it is with a Police State like Israel and Palestine. It is better to live in peace with your neighbor for your own peace and security.
Dr.Know was quick to come to diagnosis without studying the case well. Misdiagnosis can be a problem for this doctor in the future. The problem is with the training doctors receive nowadays. This is the age of specialization-specialists for different organs. They generally diagnose a very narrow area of disease, and are not trained to diagnose right when the cause of the disease is problem with another organ, different from their area of specialization. Here, doctor cut a small area of my post and diagnosed based on it, instead of diagnosing based on the whole post. Besides, ‘syndrome’ is a word doctors use nowadays in diagnosis when they do not know what exactly is the cause of the disease- an easy way out from admitting ignorance. Suggest some more training for the doctor as a generalist before becoming a specialist. Anyhow I am waiting for a verdict from Anthappan and Andrew. They will find it too sweet to spit it out and too bitter to swallow it. Dr.Know also showed the audacity to change their names as Dr. Anthappan and Dr. Andrew without their permission. Changing name can be a costly affair. Beware!
E- Malayalee needs to set a minimum standard for comment writers and article writers. An IQ of minimum 80. Otherwise, they fill the pages with idiotic racism, idiotic patriotism and idiotic religious fanaticism. These sub-humans regard women as inferior to them, spray cow urine to purify a stone because women went to worship a stone and ruined its purity. For some politically undereducated; fox news is their source of knowledge and repeat the false & foolish statements as trump is Jesus and god-built mountains as walls. Some of these egocentric men have built several walls within their homes or their wives and children have built walls to keep them away.
US constitution is not built on Judean- Christian principles which discriminate women and regard them as slaves, inferior to men, source of sin etc. The politicians who formulated the constitution belonged to Christian sects, had slaves but that doesn’t mean the Constitution is biblical. America is not a Christian theo- crazy yet even though Christian sects especially evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons & Pentecostals together elected some egocentric men to represent them. More than 70% of the people know we had an illicit election due to collusion with Russia. It is the primary duty of any news media & writer to tell the truth and not to spread false news. It is total ignorance to regard trump as Jesus- that means you have no knowledge of politics or religion.
US Constitution gives equal status to women to men. Any religion, group, club, cult or individual who promote racism, discrimination, can be brought to justice. It is a crime to be a racist and discriminate. Lawsuits and arrests are made daily in this country every day due to discrimination, denying equal opportunity & racism. Hope you will awake and live in the year 2019 and not in the ages when humans fought with bows & arrows. Those so- called scriptures are written by men to control women. Throw them away into trash & live in 2019.- andrew
I disagree with two comments that Trump s Wall is absurd etc. God has himself erected Himalayas between China and India. If not Mountains, there are oceans separating warring people. President Trump is God s own Man
Scholars admit that the basis of US Constitution was the principles of justice and Mercy in Bible. Hundreds of books written on US Constitution agree to this. As almost all of the founding fathers were Christians, it is only common sense to see that it is Bible that influenced them. This is the reason that citizens and green card (resident aliens) here have almost the same rights. Bible says both the foreigners and people of Israel need to have same rules. In Bible times there was the practice of slavery. So slavery was interpreted as agreeable to Bible principles. As time moved on a different interpretation of Bible text was popular and the time for slavery came to an end. Same is the case with women rights. Mountains act as boundaries between countries but God allowed the Khyber pass in the Himalayan mountain ranges for people to come in through which foreigners came to India. The Arabs and British came through the ocean. Looking at the rights and wrongs of past generation standing from the present can give a distorted appearance.