The time has come to finally, belatedly admit the US is a failed nation-state. Not only that, its failures are now multiplying at an astonishing rate. The rest of the world is watching in shocked horror as the former ‘shining city on the hill’ spirals down into hate, misogyny, corruption, rampant racism, and murderous rage.
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Rather, most of the world is shocked and horrified. But there’s a small group of societies and cultures that look on with complete acceptance, if not sly approval. This second group consists of other failed nation-states such as Russia, Afghanistan, North Korea, Syria, and Israel. What they all have in common is that their societies have been hijacked and taken over by warmongering strongmen or religious fanatics. Any pretense of ‘democracy,’ fairness, or social justice has long since evaporated.
This second group is bound together by their common allegiance to greed, aggressive ‘control,’ mass bullying, and massive corruption, as well as a total lack of healthy emotional boundaries and empathy. That is, these failed states have devolved into ‘macho,’ warlike monstrosities that use military force or religious oppression to take what they want. They have NO respect at all for international law, human rights, or national boundaries.
Witness Russia’s savage aggression against Ukraine (and Putin’s savage oppression of his own people); Israel’s savage and genocidal war against the hapless Gazans and its recent bombing attacks on Hamas leaders within other nations like Jordan and Qatar; and the horrendous restrictions and misogyny enacted by Afghanistan’s ruling ‘elite,’ the Taliban. North Korea and Syria are decaying shells of societies and appear to be lost causes.
Scarily, over the past decade, the U.S. has joined this despicable and destructive group.
Today, America is once again controlled and ‘led’ by a vengeful, narcissistic, bullying madman. Resident Trump (I refuse to call him our president) is gleefully and maniacally obstructing justice and environmental progress both at home and all over the world. He is gleefully interfering with global trade as well as the internal politics of the EU, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, and NATO.
Trump and his administration are truly out of control, and they are producing accelerating real-world effects that are also out of control.
What defines a ‘failed state’?
Many Americans will, no doubt, disagree intensely with my assertion that the US is a ‘failed state.’ Before proceeding further, therefore, I want to define exactly what I mean by ‘failed state.’ My personal definition and understanding of a ‘failed state’ is straightforward (though it differs a bit from traditional definitions).
A ‘failed state’ is a nation that fails its own citizens, undermines healthy social cohesion and cooperation, and is excessively aggressive on the world stage. Most importantly, it fails to provide for basic social needs like excellent education, good healthcare for all, economic security, an effective social ‘safety net,’ and real support for justice and equal rights.
By these measures, the US has been failing miserably for many decades. Our immense roster of failures became glaringly obvious, though, under the ruthless rule of Trump and MAGA. In just the past eight months, for instance, Trump and his obedient lackies have gutted or dismantled many federal agencies that once protected Americans and our environment from ecological degradation (the EPA), financial fraud and manipulation (the CFPB), contagious diseases (the CDC), and offered crucial foreign aid to many suffering areas or nations (USAID).
To me, all of these disruptive and destructive policy shifts indicate the US has entered its final ‘death spiral.’ All along, the US has failed to provide even the most basic ‘social goods’ for its citizens, to the extent of deriding most social goods and necessities as ‘socialism.’ Instead, we’ve promoted greedy individualism and its nasty alter-ego, unrestrained capitalism.
Under such a system, there are only a few big-time ‘winners’… but many, many resentful losers. Our social, economic, and political systems are all set up to greatly benefit a tiny minority, while oppressing or holding back the vast majority. This is not a recipe for a vibrant, successful society.
A horrifying litany of failures
So, when I call the US a ‘failed state,’ I’m talking about much more than mere politics or the latest legal and social shenanigans. I’m really talking about the entire way the US was set up and has long been operating. Simply put, the US has never been egalitarian or economically fair and has never truly been ‘the land of the free’ or ‘the land of opportunity.’ It’s been a great place for a few hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wealthy CEOs.
For the common people and dark-skinned folks, it’s mainly been… shit.
We tried — briefly — to improve our society in the 1960s and 70s. We were starting to practice what we preached about freedom, justice, and equality. But a vast, predictable right-wing reaction began emerging in the 80s. Then, over the past 40+ years, almost all these positive changes and improvements have been reversed or actively undermined.
A few sobering or downright horrifying statistics:
- Among the top 25 wealthy ‘developed’ nations, the US has by far the highest death rate from gun violence (no surprise there). The US rate is “7½ times higher than Canada’s… 18 times higher than France’s… 30 times higher than Australia’s… 332 times higher than the United Kingdom’s… 863 times higher than Japan’s.”
- The US healthcare system consistently ranks at or near the bottom among wealthy nations. “The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector.”
- Race relations between Whites and BIPOC are deteriorating, as is Americans’ sense of racial equality and ‘justice for all.’ In a recent survey, “only 51 percent [think] Black Americans will “eventually” have the same rights as white Americans.” And among Blacks, that percentage is far lower (33%). After almost 250 years, that is truly pathetic — and unconscionable.
- As almost all Americans know by now, our political system is deeply divisive and corrupt. It tends to cater to and reward the wealthy, while ignoring the needs of the vast majority. Our rigid two-party system thrives on division and conflict; it produces endless gridlock and stagnation. Nothing gets done. Plus, no one today is willing to compromise and work with the other party, which is often seen as ‘the enemy.’ This stance is unworkable, and worse, it marks burgeoning disaster for our ‘representative democracy.’
- Under Trump, the U.S. has cozied up to dictators like Putin and Viktor Orban, while insulting or undermining allies like Canada, Germany, Denmark, the EU, and NATO. We are increasingly aligning our nation with violent rogue nations like Russia and Israel — and treating their tyrannical leaders with great deference. We have lost our way (and conscience?), and are fast shedding any remaining vestiges of ‘democracy,’ honesty, fairness, and social justice.
The ‘American experiment’ is OVER
Given all our considerable failures — what is to be done? Clearly, our Constitution and current political system are not up to the task of guiding and governing a huge, multiracial modern nation like the US. Equally clearly, our current semi-democratic system has been abused, corrupted, and made far worse by the accelerating takeover spearheaded by Trump and various Project 2025 co-conspirators.
All in all, I (very sadly) conclude that our vaunted ‘American experiment’ is now over — because it ultimately failed. In truth, it has failed spectacularly over the past decade, as an infamous con man, racist, sexual abuser, and pathological liar ascended to the presidency not just once, but twice.
This is the same cunning demagogue who instigated an insurrection at our Capitol on January 6, 2021 to overthrow the 2020 election and undo Biden’s victory. Yet, he has faced NO consequences for his seditious words and actions. Instead, we whitewashed his inflammatory, treasonous words and sedition and rewarded him with the presidency again. And with it, he gained virtual untouchability and almost unlimited power.
This is one of the worst mistakes ever made by any modern nation — second only to Hitler’s long-term takeover of Germany in the 1930s and early 40s. The US is such a complete and horrifying failure that we couldn’t even bring the clearly guilty Trump to justice.
Hell, even ‘lowly’ Brazil was able to bring its ‘Trump of the South’ to justice: Brazil’s Supreme Court just found Jair Bolsonaro guilty of conspiracy, plotting a coup d’etat, trying to overthrow democracy, and other similar charges and sentenced him to 27 years in prison.
Our reputation and our REALITY are in the toilet
Our US reaction to the Bolsonaro drama and trial was quite revealing. Instead of siding with democracy and justice, Resident Trump chose to condemn Brazil’s efforts. He insisted the charges were a leftist ‘hoax,’ and called the trial a ‘witch hunt.’ He totally supported Bolsonaro — a corrupt, lying dictator-wannabe like Trump — and tried to blackmail Brazil into dropping the charges by threatening a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods if Brazil didn’t back down.
Trump directly meddled in their internal affairs and pushed hard to manipulate and overpower their justice system. Then, when they didn’t roll over and comply, he followed through on his threat and punished Brazil with his ridiculous 50% tariffs (which hurt American companies and consumers as well).
According to the Associated Press, “Trump said he was “very unhappy” with [Bolsonaro’s] conviction, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on his X account that the U.S. government “will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.””
In a sense, that’s all we need to know about the current failed state of our nation. Both our president and Secretary of State are on record supporting the duly convicted ex-president of Brazil and also threatening to sanction (punish) those involved. WTF?! The US has devolved into a dark autocracy, and the spineless, power-addicted GOP has aided and abetted this horrific descent… and continues to do so.
The US we once knew — imperfect and ugly as it often was — is now gone. And it’s not coming back.
We who love and appreciate democracy, equality, and inclusiveness are facing an ongoing fascist/autocratic nightmare. We will have to cultivate and practice ultimate patience. The US is now collapsing, and it will take many years, or even decades, for something new and better to emerge. It will take a long time for the US to even be open to much-needed transformation.
But the change is coming… eventually. In truth, no one wants to live in a failed, collapsing, inhospitable rogue nation. We the people want, and will someday demand and then create, something far better. Far better… eventually, someday??
Maybe. If we’re determined and… very lucky.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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