Jan 6, 2021 - America's Democracy is Crumbling

January 6, 2021 will be remembered as the day the legitimacy of American democracy crumbled. As an American expat who has lived abroad for 14 years, it is becoming incredibly harder each passing year to be proud of my home country. I never thought I would ever say such a comment. But my heart is hurting. The America that I grew up in and that I love so much is a distant memory. 

The current version I see resembles nothing I knew when I left my home many years ago. American politicians travel around the world preaching America’s form of government is superior. We force other countries to adopt our democratic values, when we ourselves can not provide a good example of democracy for our own citizens.

The most integral part of a democracy is being able to hold an open and free election and accept the results of that election. In a democracy your party will not always win. But it is a democratic value to accept this fact and if your party loses to congratulate the opposing party and learn to work with them.

For two months Trump has failed to embrace the most basic element of the very democracy that America is so desperate to spread around the world. Trump’s actions have caused a build-up of aggression and anger amongst his followers, that today erupted into extreme violence and one of the most disgusting scenes I’ve ever witnessed in my life. The American capital under siege, civilians dying, and utter chaos. 

Last year we saw the Chinese city of Hong Kong suffer through months and months of violent riots that wreaked havoc on the stability of the city. Nancy Pelosi watched the video footage of Hong Kong being destroyed and claimed it was a “beautiful sight to behold”. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called these rioters pro-democracy activists instead, and failed to condone their actions as violence. But now we see the true colors of Mike Pompeo when today he stated, “The storming of the U.S. Capitol today is unacceptable. Lawlessness and rioting -- here or around the world -- is always unacceptable.”

If these events happen in China it’s fine, but inside America, they of course, are not acceptable. This afternoon Trump’s favorite social media network Twitter banned him for 24 hours. Facebook quickly followed. For a country that preaches the importance of “freedom of speech” it’s incredible to see the most recognizable American in the world now being controlled by internet censorship in his own country.

 If there is one comment that could sum up my entire thoughts about today’s events it would be this quote from Mohamad Safa:

“If the United States saw what the United States is doing in the United States, the United States would invade the United States to liberate the United States from the tyranny of the United States”.

It is time for these American political double standards to stop. American citizens deserve better. The world deserves better from America. It’s time to recognize Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, move forward, and reestablish the legitimacy of our American democracy.