Ashok Dhillon
Sep 4, 201810 min
These past weeks have been eventful to say the least, what with the recent divisive funeral of Senator John McCain, pitting the heroic uniting force of John McCain against the derisive, divisive forces of Donald Trump; the contentious NAFTA negotiations between the threatening Donald Trump instructed U.S. negotiators and the defiant Canadian government; the shocking riots and rise of the neo-Nazi’s in Germany; the increasing heavy-handedness of India’s Hindu Nationalists as they trample on India’s secular founding Constitution; the problem laden U.K. government of Prime Minister Theresa May and the off-the-rails Brexit strategy; the increasing woes of a defiant President Erdogan and a beleaguered Turkey; the accelerating collapse of Venezuela; the always shocking (as to their regular re-occurrences) economic collapses of an unstable Argentina, going once again to the IMF feeding bowl; the further ghettoizing of the Palestinian West Bank by an increasingly oppressive Israel; the merciless killing of busloads of children in Yemen by the Saudi led coalition forces, supplied and backed by the U.S.; and the of course the passing of the Queen of Soul, the cherished and incredible Aretha Franklin.
The U.S. sets the tone in World Affairs by its sheer economic and cultural size in spite of every effort of Donald Trump’s to disengage the country from the rest of the World as he tries to perpetuate ignorance and fear in his cowering ‘Base’ of suspicious gullible Americans, of an ‘abusive World perpetually taking advantage of a dumb-witted and formerly atrociously led America’ (till now – now that he is there to save them and America, single-handedly). As Trump trapeses around the country holding his personally comforting but factually and reality challenged ‘rallies’, he keeps promoting the fear of violent foreigners, the evils of progressive/liberal views, and the near constant deception of the free press and the mainstream media. In his tireless efforts at mass misinformation he of course is aided and abetted by the majority of Republicans, of whom less than a handful are gutsy enough to oppose him; John McCain having been the most prominent, consistent and effective one.
At his funeral, his daughter, Meghan McCain, eloquently and passionately tore a strip of off the militarily challenged, heroics deficient, falsehoods spewing, divisive, disruptive and rather cowardly, mean-spirited Donald Trump, whose express dis-invite from the funeral put him in his proper place in front of the World, better than any harsh admonishment ever could have. Although, there were plenty of indirect admonishments from Meghan and the former U.S. Presidents that attended, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, directed at Trump’s embarrassing and destructive behaviour as the current U.S. President.
John McCain’s serving sons, in full uniform at the funeral, contrasted perfectly real heroism and service from the McCain family, with the self-indulgent, practically treasonous Russia-worshiping, money-grabbing, sensitivity-deficient Trump family. The following picture really is worth a thousand words:
As the re-negotiations of the tri-part, Canada, Mexico and the USA, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) proceeded, with Mexico coming to an agreement ahead of Canada, Trump predictably ratcheted up the rhetoric using the amateurish negotiating tricks that the World is becoming all too familiar with, albeit not buying – the threats of dire unilateral action sprinkled with bits of flattery.
The Canadian government certainly isn’t buying it, instead, it has repeatedly stated its intent to properly negotiate a mutually beneficial proper Trade Agreement between the two largest trading partners in the World, Canada and the USA, with prudence rather than bombast. Such mature sobriety did not sit well with a ‘win’ obsessed Donald Trump who is now threatening his own lawmakers in Congress to ‘stay out of it’, or else he will act unilaterally to cancel it entirely. No one is buying that either, there is simply too much at stake for both countries to let a delusional, despot wannabe, wreck a historically unique and mutually beneficial economic relationship between Canada and the United States.
While the rational World is trying to ignore the irrational and destructive Donald Trump, and in the bargain maintain its balance, there is an element in the U.S., and the World, that has been emboldened by the worst of Donald Trump and has re-emerged from the dark-side back into the light of mainstream national politics, the far-right nationalistic bigots of yester-years.
Apart from re-breathing life into long-buried nationalism and fascism in Europe, in countries like Hungary and Austria, even the shame drenched darkest aspects of Nazi Germany are being rejuvenated by the examples of Donald Trump’s open support of racism, bigotry, division and hate, in the USA and around the World.
Apart from Europe, even the Nationalist Hindu Party (the 'BJP') and its proxies, of Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India, is becoming increasingly aggressive in its open hatred for minorities, particularly the significantly large Muslim population of India (2nd largest Muslim population in the World after Indonesia), no doubt encouraged by the blatant bigotry of Donald Trump towards Muslims in general. Years of general racial and religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence of all Indians, of the various ethnic and religious backgrounds, are being attacked by the darkest aspects of Trump-induced suspicions and hatreds in the active Hindu zealots.
No doubt latent hatred and suspicion are in the primitive aspects of every human heart, which two thousand plus years of enlightenment and teachings of love and tolerance by Buddha, Christ, Muhammad and others have failed to eradicate, but its quite shocking how little it took for such primitiveness to reassert itself globally.
Undoubtedly this too shall pass, as the more evolved, the majority, will once again defeat this resurgence of latent hatred as the combined strength of the ‘Allied Forces’ defeated the Fascism and Nazism of the World War II Europe past - but in the meantime, Donald Trump and the Trump-inspired are doing a lot of unnecessary damage everywhere, and are causing a tremendous amount of human suffering.
India’s sporadic and short-lived advances towards real country-wide development always seem to stall with self-inflicted wounds economic, political and religious.
In the last three decades or so, a distantly lagging, severely underdeveloped China has left India in its hyper-development dust. To the extent that India has been surpassed so easily, and continues to be by its main Asian rival, is quite shocking, considering the head-start India has had for decades with its close ties to the West, its social/capitalism, its history of entrenched private ownership and commerce, and the prevalence of the English language. And its not that India did not have the capacity to become the economic and political giant it longed to be, but its self-defeating ability to continuously thwart itself with self-inflicted, development arresting grievous wounds of crushing corruption and individual greed that always surpasses national interest, is always astonishingly effective, and tragic.
Now, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power with great expectations of accelerated development, India has, once again, sabotaged itself by being hijacked by the regressive nationalistic Hindu organizations that are more concerned with the religious dominance of the majority Hindus than the overall strength and development of India, as a diversified whole.
Besides millions of Indians reside abroad peacefully, a lot of them Hindu, able to work, live and practice their own religion with no opposition whatsoever, in predominantly Muslim, Christian and Buddhist countries.
How will the growing intolerance of minorities in India, by the Hindu Nationalists, affect the long-term prospects of all Hindus abroad? It would seem such considerations aren’t important to the home-bound ultra-Nationalists. But to proper India needs to deal with all countries, almost all of them non-Hindu, and short sighted, heavy handed dealing of minorities within India will eventually have repercussions abroad.
India’s strength is in its diversity, as compared to the historic weakness of Pakistan, the predominantly one religion Country. This fact seems to escape the virulently anti-minority Hindu nationalists. They have been emboldened by the assent of Modi, a leader they feel they have incubated, nurtured and brought to power, to bring back the mythical past glories of an ancient ‘all Hindu India’ bereft of all other major non-Hindu related religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism, along with any other they feel threatened by. This growing angst, fed actively by the hyper insecure among the nationalistic organizations, is creating heightened fear, division, and development arresting disruption within an otherwise stunningly tolerant, diverse and historically ‘accepting’ society. But then that is India, always finding a way to slide backwards with its erratic advances.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has been increasingly befuddled by the process of extracting Britain from the European Union (EU), to the point, the whole process has become a study in incompetence, political infighting, and second-guessing for the whole Nation. In the meantime, the EU officials are probably transfixed in disbelief and amused horror at the escalating mess, the ruptures, back-stabbings and lack of cohesion in British politics. And, as the confusion grows, understandably, the confused British public is having second thoughts about the whole infernal mess.
The consequences of a ‘hard’ or bad ‘Brexit’ are much too damaging for U.K. to risk. Yet, it would seem all parties to the drama are committed to somehow making it more difficult and confusing. It did not help that the original Referendum was riddled by misinformation and political dishonesty, preying upon the knee-jerk emotional reaction of fears of being invaded by ‘foreigners and refugees’ from the war devastate Middle East, the historically exploited African countries, and Europe.
Now, upon reflection, most of Britain seems to be having second thoughts about the whole exercise, but Prime Minister Theresa May and the Brexit diehards seem hell bent on going through with it regardless of the lack of a proper strategy and well considered plans for an EU-less Briton of the future. One thing is certain, the consequences of a ‘hard Brexit’ will undisputedly be damaging to the British economy and will put the people at a great disadvantage to the united Europeans.
But the same voices that sold Brexit in the first place are still insisting on the amazing and improbable benefits of standing alone in an increasingly integrated World. And they continue to downplay the incredible benefits of belonging to the European free-trading block with all the reciprocating advantages of available opportunities that the British younger generation can access. Unfortunately, currently the voices of division and suspicion seem to have the sway, and in Britain’s case, if they prevail, then the country is in for a lengthy period of troubled times, economically, politically and socially.
To add to the rising discordant notes ringing loud in the current World, there is the economic and financial instability of Turkey, where President Erdogan is trying to convince his fellow countrymen that the current currency crisis (the Lira) is all the fault of outside forces and none of his government’s doing, in spite of having undertaken one of the most vicious, protracted purges of all opposition, real and suspected, in modern times, with great disruption to the functioning of the country. Now in typical shoot-oneself-in-the-foot Erdogan defiance, he wants to divorce Turkey from the U.S. dollar entirely. How he imagines that move will rectify Turkey’s growing economic woes is beyond the understanding of us lesser mortals.
Then there is the tragically afflicted Venezuela, the affliction being, the worst leadership possible under a grossly incompetent Nicolas Maduro.
One cannot help but feel real heartache for the good people of Venezuela as they are driven from their own country, by the sheer desperation for simple survival, into the increasingly unwelcoming neighbouring countries. This catastrophe is such unnecessary tragedy, in an oil rich Venezuela. The country has been steadily devastated by its very own leaders (but they also love to point to ‘outside forces’).
Argentina’s regular economic collapses have become legend as it heads once again to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the most recent $50 Billion bailout ask. Again, Argentina is a relatively resource rich Country, but its long-standing record of repeat financial failures have become par-for-the-course, leaving it in the category of a perpetual economic basket case.
In the meantime, the constant toll of human death and suffering in the Middle East continues unabated. Israel continues to view the Palestinians as mere pests and does everything to inflame the situation, and then takes every opportunity to strike hard with lethal effect. Additionally, it continues to steal Palestine land in spite of strong U.N. and European objections, with the secure knowledge of America’s almost lapdog like loyalty.
It’s a decades old travesty that has no end except the permanent ghettoization of the Palestinians in their own homeland. With America’s unwavering support regardless of the atrociousness of Israel’s behaviour, and in spite of U.N.’s consistent objections, Israel continues to confine the Palestinians into literal ghettos, and then grinds and bombs them into forced submission. There wouldn’t be any rockets flying (given the occasional ones that do from the West Bank), if the people were treated as people and given equal rights as any other human beings. And Heavens, imagine treating Palestinians a little like the Israeli’s like to be treated themselves (you know the Biblical ‘do unto others as you would have them do to you’, etc.).
In Yemen, the proxy war between the United States and Saudi Arabia and all the ‘Sunni’ supporting countries, and, the minority Shia Houthis, backed by Shia Iran, has simply devastated the country. While the war itself is as horrific as all wars are, but the recent deliberate bombings of school buses, killing 29 children and wounding another 30 (estimates by Red Cross) although some sources claim higher number of causalities, is particularly horrific. The Saudi led coalition that carried out the attack claim it to be ‘legitimate’, while the U.N. informed, the ‘ordnance’ (the bombs) were supplied by the U.S. The horror of such cruel acts being ‘legitimate’ speak to the cruelty and callousness of opposing sides in wars, where the wholesale destruction of civilians becomes the norm, in fact, the express goal of the combatants. It’s all quite sick.
There are plenty of other problems plaguing the earth currently, in the political, economic, social and environmental areas. But there is the majority in most countries that in a subdued way (the silent majority), continues to fight the wrongs being perpetrated, and bring back some semblance of order and rightfulness. Unfortunately, in these troubled times when a particularly disruptive ‘evil genius’ is hell bent on unleashing all the negative forces that had been conquered (at great cost) and buried in the past, World order will not return till the forces of evil are defeated once again. That fight is now on, and every person is a combatant in that fight.
As we cope with the daily deluge of bad and worse news, the reality is, in spite of this pesky species called humans trying its utmost to destroy the World as it is, polluting and destroying the oceans, the land and the air, and in the bargain destroying itself, the Earth will keep spinning and shall restore itself long after we are gone; to Mars, anyone??