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Joe Biden's 'America is back' falls short of real action

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaEdited By: Gravitas deskUpdated: Feb 09, 2021, 08:14 AM IST
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Joe Biden Photograph:(Reuters)

Story highlights

Joe Biden is promising to make America diverse again, but it will take time to undo the impact of Donald Trump's presidency

For decades the US-dominated the world politically, diplomatically, economically, culturally and scientifically. America's influence was unmatched in every way possible...

It was called the most powerful nation since imperial Rome, one that was stronger than any likely combination of other nations, the world's tallest buildings were in America. The world's biggest factories were American and so was the biggest movie industry, the best health-care system, and the best law and order. Cut to 2021 and America's share in the global pie is much smaller, the playing field has levelled, the tallest buildings are in Dubai, the biggest factories are Chinese and the biggest movie industry is Indian.

America's health-care system is in a sorry state as India is vaccinating the world. There's a breakdown of law and order. America is grappling with political unrest and racial divide. The US now looks similar to the countries it once tried to liberate and it is no longer in a position to impose its views, interests and values on the world.

The US President, Joe Biden, said, "America is back. America is back". That may not be completely true as the world order has changed since the Democrats were last in power. There are too many challenges at home for the Biden administration to take a lead on global issues.

America remains the worst-hit nation due to COVID-19 with 27 million cases and counting, and over 460,000 deaths and counting. Schools are yet to reopen in many states. Vaccines are not reaching the minority communities even as the UK variant is spreading rapidly.

A new study says the mutated virus is doubling every 10 days and could become America's dominant strain by March potentially driving up the number of cases and causing more deaths. 

American politics is beyond the point of repair. The Republicans are rallying behind Trump, dismissing the impeachment as a waste of time. The Democrats have not wavered, they won't rest until Trump is convicted. This ceaseless political war is hampering legislation. The Republicans say their freedoms are being taken away.

"We have Nancy Pelosi leading the democrats in congress to do whatever they want. They don't care what Republicans have to say. They don't care about what our districts and our voters have to say. They only care about pushing their socialist agenda through. They only care about taking away our freedoms. That's not right," said Republican US Representative from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Americans have become deeply distrustful of one another as they disagree with each other's beliefs, policies and plans. In a poll conducted by the Associated Press, 85 per cent of registered voters described Americans as being deeply divided in their values and only 15 per cent said that democracy was working.

In yet another poll conducted by CBS News in January this year, 54 per cent said that the biggest threat to America wasn't economic collapse, natural disasters or foreign interference, but America's own citizens. This difference in ideologies reflects in the racial divide.

Joe Biden is promising to make America diverse again, but it will take time to undo the impact of Donald Trump's presidency.

According to Kaiser health news analysis, the vaccination rates among black Americans are significantly lower than that of white Americans. In Indiana, 85.8 per cent of the vaccinated population is white and only 4 per cent are blacks. In Tennessee, 68.15 per cent are whites, 6.7 per cent are blacks and in Florida 63.7 per cent are whites and only 4.9 per cent are blacks.

Researches blame limited access and mistreatment of the black community in health-care for this disparity.

While Biden claims "America is back", that may not be true, nd the country is in fact in a state of decline. Joe Biden will have to clean the mess in his own backyard first before he embarks on his self-righteous promise of making the world better.