America Between Hate and Miss (By: Shamsi Ali)

By: Imam Shamsi Ali

America has always been unique or rather America always wants to look unique, different from other countries/nations in the eyes of the world. Even America does not want to be matched or equated with anyone in the basic and mundane matters of life.

When other people call football, America calls it Soccer. When the world weighs something in kilograms, America calls it pounds. The world measures the width/length of something in centimeters and hectares, America uses the words feet and acres. When the world calls the length of the journey in kilometers, America calls it miles, and so on.

The ability to build an image or perception makes America sometimes want to appear different (exceptional). Especially when this country is led by a racist President like Donald Trump. Human skin also wants to be sorted by the assessment of glory and humiliation. Racism has become a disgusting trademark of privilege.

Recently caused by some bad events in the global world, America’s old sin in Afghanistan, the remnants of the Iraq/Syria war which seems to be a hereditary sin, now the Ukraine war and many other global issues drag America into a variety of quite complicated problems. .

Not to mention the classic but very complicated and dangerous domestic crisis. The economic problems due to Covid, which were exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war, for example, are very palpable and worrying. Another thing that is most worrying is the freedom of possession and uncontrolled use of weapons. Murders occur almost every day in various parts of the country.

Oil prices which impacted the soaring prices of almost all basic necessities. It’s not even just prices that have soared. As a result of rising oil prices, it is also very disruptive to the transportation of basic daily needs. So many shops are empty of selling goods.

The difficulties experienced by America gave rise to other non-physical problems. One of them is the occurrence of a mental health crisis which is quite acute. This further exacerbates security problems, particularly with regard to the freedom to own weapons

Will America collapse?

With all the problems America is currently facing, some see that America is on the verge of collapsing. Even so, some people hate (hate) America, they want America to collapse right now.

I would like to say that with all the problems America is currently facing, both abroad and at home, America is still a “powerful” country. I prefer the word powerful over “super power” for several reasons.

One of the most important of these is that in today’s globalized world there has been an almost even “power sharing”. The world is no longer dominated by a single power and therefore the word super power is actually less relevant in today’s global world.

In addition, with the advancement of information, especially social media, the power and privilege of America can no longer be engineered. The world can easily see the weaknesses of America (and all nations). The lies of a nation (or its leaders) are easily exposed by a world with an open character. Hence there are no more secrets between us.

Back to the question above. Will America collapse in the near future because of the problems it faces today?

On several occasions I have said that do not be quick to dream of seeing America collapse due to economic, military, and even political problems. America has a strong foundation in all of that. As solid as the construction of New York City which was planned hundreds of years ago, so is the solid foundation of America’s economy, politics, let alone military defense.

As bad as the economy in this country, Americans should not starve. Various institutions provide social services to those in need. One American paradoxical character on the one hand individualistic. But on the other hand high social character.

In fact, as I have often said on several occasions, America’s greatest weakness and crisis today is the crisis of morality. This crisis is a direct consequence of the crisis of spirituality (inner aridity) that has befallen America and the Western world for a long time.

I no longer need to go into detail about the various manifestations of problems America is facing as a result of the morality crisis. But what we see most prominently is the loss of rationality and balance in making various public policies.

Some examples I can mention as an example. The concept of freedom and basic rights is the reason for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The concept of freedom and constitutional rights is also the basis for free gun ownership.

Liberalism or unlimited freedom (if it is in line with their understanding) and uncontrolled is the reason for freeing various behaviors that clearly damage the order of morality and humanity.

All of the above realities are actually a more real threat and a more dangerous crisis for America than the economic recession or the Ukrainian war as people suspect and this is also what could be the door to the collapse of this powerful country.

So don’t get excited just yet with partial hatred, which wants to see America collapse soon. Hatred does sometimes bring long dreams to see other people fall. Of course with the hope that we become strong and win. Even though “over hatred” turns out to often cause life hallucinations.

On the other hand, admit it or not, there are still many who dream of coming to America. Job opportunities are still widely available. Salary guarantees are clearer with guaranteed minimum wages. So the dishwasher is still possible for you to drive your own car in America.

Not to mention the world’s best universities are still in America. You want Harvard, MIT, Yale, Cornell, Princeton, or even Columbia and NYU.

All of this is the cause of the growth of paradoxical behavior in some people in viewing America. They sometimes hate America but also miss it.

Said my youngest son, Ayman: Alhamdulillah still America, yetsss! (AK/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)