Ayoon Wa Azan (No longer an example to be followed)

There once was a time when the United States was an example for modern states, and for independence. It defeated Hitler during World War II and followed this victory with the Marshall Plan, to rebuild Europe. This coincided with the Four-Point Plan to assist third world countries and other projects around the world. But we have now come to see US foreign policy in the hands of the Israel lobby, or the tail wagging the dog; we have seen the Neo-conservatives engaged in incessant warmongering, and the US has become a model for the state that no democratic state can be. I recalled what the US used to be like, and what it has become, while I was reading the result of an American opinion poll that asked whether Americans support spreading their values around the world. If I had been asked, I would have asked the following: Are they the values of attacking Iraq on trumped-up reasons, and before it Afghanistan, and killing a million Arabs and Muslims; or are they the values of supporting a racist, neo-Nazi state engaged in occupation and killing children, or depriving American citizens of health care, which is available in most of the world's countries? I was not asked, but the Americans were: Fifteen percent said it was America's duty to spread its values around the world, while 31 percent said the US should learn from the values of others. Fifty-one percent opposed spreading America's values abroad, or learning from the values of others (the rest had no opinion). I read the poll after the Supreme Court's decision that the Obama administration's 2010 health care plan was constitutional. The decision was a shock for the extremist right-wing of the Republican Party and those around it; Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had promised to veto Obamacare, if elected president. Publisher Rupert Murdoch recently criticized Romney for his shifting positions and poor performance. In the four days following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Romney campaign received $4.3 million from 43,000 donors, although the total number of donors in May did not exceed 25,000. More important than the number of donors is the gradual change in American laws since 2008 and the return to the days of Richard Nixon, when there was the least possible oversight. This change enabled billionaires, or those with an interest in tailor-made laws, to spend without oversight on the campaign of any candidate who works for the wealthy against the poor. US law allows Americans to donate about $35,000-40,000 to their favorite candidate or political party. However, the end of restraints on donations led to the rise of "Super PACs" which can spend millions of dollars to support a preferred candidate. The only condition is that the names of the donors must be declared, and among these people are a number of Likudnik Americans who support Israel's crimes. Even more dangerous is the rise of non-profit organizations, which are not obliged to reveal the names of their donors. They also have millions of dollars and spend them, with no oversight. They are backed by leading figures of the right, with the common denominator among them being support for Israel. After his first election victory in 1992, Bill Clinton tried, along with his wife Hillary, to pass a health care plan that would help the poor. However, the couple failed miserably and did not mount another try; around a decade later, Obama came along and repeated the attempt, and succeeded. And ever since, the extreme right has been waging a health care war against Obama, considering it a tax on the middle class, which is it most certainly not. The right went crazy after the Supreme Court’s verdict; among its nine members are known conservatives who were appointed by George W Bush. Even so, a five-to-four decision saw the court uphold Obama's health care plan, which was a double disappointment. The right launched a new war against Obama and America's poor, even though the American economy is what determines winners in presidential elections, and not social security or any foreign policy. Thus, after the Americans once defeated the Nazis and helped Europe and the third world grow and rise, and supported independence for countries under colonialism, the US has suffered setbacks, waging unjustified wars around the world. America supports aggression, after having stood with the victims, while the right is fighting America's poor, along with the rest of the world. It is no longer an example to be followed. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.