As I pondered what to tackle in this week’s Watani editorial, the ramifications of world events surrounded and engulfed me. It hit me to a scare to realise that the US is the predominant common factor in these events; it has been the direct or indirect driver behind the breakout of these events, their escalation until they spun out of control, and all the devastation this entailed. The US’s only motive was to achieve the diabolic objective of extending its control and hegemony over the world which it insists it should alone lead. One might have understood the US’s desire to single-handedly lead the world, had it been the sole proprietor of the mainstays of progress and excellency in all fields: the scientific, technological, economic and military. Yet this is not the case; many nations compete with the US in advancement and excellency. Instead of building bonds of cooperation, harmony and engagement between the US and such nations for the sake of global peace, the US has slipped into a quagmire of evil, excluding everybody and conspiring against them, in order to gain exclusive leadership, even if undeservedly.
I stand perplexed before the gruesome scene of the US stationing itself on terrible conflict fronts where defeat and depletion await. The world is done with US leadership, but has realised that the US will not allow others to share in this leadership. The international community responded by forming new alliances and coalitions, marching towards a multi-polar world whether or not the US likes it. The world is attempting to emerge out of the gruesome dark tunnel where the US is the self-appointed sole superpower that hinders progress towards a global family connected with bonds of equality, parity, engagement and peace.
I said I was perplexed at this situation. I found it hard to grasp that the US, a nation founded on a momentous legacy of noble principles set by the Founding Fathers, would miss the point that much. When and how were these principles cast off? I realised that they were lost at the hands of disgraceful political institutions that cared only about their own interests, adopting the motto “after me, let the flood come”.
I went looking for this legacy of foundations and principles that were written by the Founding Fathers of the American nation, who intended to install a deep-rooted never-to-be-shaken foundation. Alas, the terrible reality is that these principles are being compromised. Is it a sign of decline of the US? If history says that nations rise from backwardness to civilisation then undergo decline, I wonder if the US would be a nation which jumped from backwardness to decline without sufficiently passing through civilisation? In this context I delved into the sayings of the Founding Fathers of the US, and I was gripped. Are these sayings still omnipresent?
Thomas Jefferson (1741 – 1826):
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
George Washington (1732 – 1799):
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790):
“Any society that would give up essential liberty to obtain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
John Adams (1735 – 1826):
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865):
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
“My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1844 – 1962):
“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth.”
John Kennedy (1917 – 1963):
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Ronald Regan (1911 – 2004):
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968):
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
Jimi Hendrix (1942 – 1970):
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
Watani International
2 June 2023