HELLO AGAIN, AMERICA

It's a beautiful world out there; most of the time it’s also pretty crazy.

As fast as it gets digitally cleverer, it steadily ‘dysfunctionalises’ (like my new word); and, sadly, so many crooks! But, fortunately, there appears to be a vast majority of thoroughly decent people; who, especially for personal friends, make a valuable contribution to the lives of others. Awareness of that dimension keeps one sane and happy. Well, er … happy at least. I recall, many years ago, taking part in a quiz at a school’s parents day for one of my children. Given a map of Africa, with country shapes but no names shown, you had to identify the respective countries. To do well you needed to have taken an interest in the world around you. Recognising South Africa with its coastline was easy but when it came to Uganda and Chad that was another matter.

Clear

It was clear, from how well they did, that most parents were familiar with what the rest of the world looked like. Not able to speak all 7 000 or so languages of course; that takes a bit more time! A gentleman called Ziad Fazah speaks and writes 58 of those languages, including Arabic, Thai and Norwegian; is that amazing? A rather useful guy to have on board when you’re doing a bike ride round the world. But the big boys on the block are different. I talk about the USA today. I’ve said before how much I admire that country for its diversity, talent, unity of states and, especially, the duty shown to other countries. It’s the biggest economy in the world – only just, because China and India are breathing down its neck – and has produced scores of amazing athletes, actors, writers, singers and other musicians. It’s a country that attracts interest all round the world, yet much has been written about the average person in the USA having little idea of, or interest in, what is where – or who is there – outside its own borders. Whether motivated by exceptionalism, isolationism, triumphalism or sheer indifference – perhaps a bit of each over time – Americans of all ages have long scored low on geography and external current events quizzes.

Appreciation

They’ve often shown a remarkable inability even to locate major countries on the map, let alone develop an appreciation for their cultures or roles in global affairs. Some US news agencies, not long ago, announced that they were closing overseas bureaux because of a lack of interest among their subscribers or viewers. But, the other way round, billions will be closely watching what’s currently going on in the USA – and how it will affect them. You have a candidate for the upcoming national election in 2024 who is facing many serious criminal charges, some of which may not be resolved in court prior to that election. This candidate could be campaigning from his prison cell, though he would not be able to conduct the presidency from that location. And what is truly crazy is that the candidate in question is leading his Republican party rivals by a country mile.

Unless something extraordinary happens in the coming months, Donald Trump will win the Republican vote as that party’s candidate for the national election. Regardless of political affiliation, most citizens of the United States would express a genuinely sincere view that the president of their country should possess a character of conspicuous reliability and profound integrity. Why, therefore, can a country of perhaps 260 million adults out of a population of 340 million, have at least 100 million of them wanting as their leader a man who is a proven sexual abuser of at least one woman, claimed a star-status entitlement to a deeply offensive form of sexual abuse, and is facing many court indictments, where there is surely ‘no smoke without fire’?

Commitment

Those supporters are a mix of people irreversibly enslaved in their commitment to the chosen political party, and a large number of individuals who admire a man who openly challenges and condemns the establishment, while playing the classic card that the criminal charges are politically motivated. To a degree it works, with many giving the accused the benefit of the doubt; ‘innocent until proved guilty’. Add to that how easily people can be impressed by the arrogant self-confidence that Trump has, and that they lack. He now has no chance of losing the Republican primary, to face the chosen Democrat who, at the present rate, is certain to be the ancient Joe Biden. Trump first insults the establishment; then he’ll start poking fun at Biden and his increasingly geriatric mumbles and stumbles.

What is so good about a free and fair society – and I believe that of the USA – is that its establishment will prioritise what is right and proper. The indictments are pouring in at a very rapid rate; pace is a necessity since you cannot have the strong possibility of a president with so much ‘baggage’. It would be beyond the perimeter of decency, and the American so-called democracy would be seriously ridiculed. But even with that sorted, you’ll still have two entirely inappropriate candidates competing for president.

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