Congratulations, America!

Congratulations, America! You now find yourselves on the same page as Hugo Chavez, Mugabe, Castro and Ahmadinejad. You are now in support of leftists, tyrants and dictators. Just six months ago, America would lend its (albeit rhetorical) support to anyone seeking liberty without hesitation. When in 2002 Chavez just barely survived a coup d’etat, then President Bush spoke out in support of the opposition. It earned him endless ridicule, as he knew it would; but he did it anyway.

Today, the word “coup” trumps “constitution”. This speaks to the mindset of our current commander-in-chief, who appears to be in awe of tyrants the world over. I’m sure he is taking studious notes to know just how to counter push-back when the time comes for him to extend his own term(s) in office. Will our own constitutional checks and balances remain viable? I doubt it. Should he succeed (as seems likely) in packing the courts with cronies, eroding the power of Congress, starving the military and criminalizing dissent, he is certain to prevail. As long as the press continues to carry his water directly to and from White House, the national narrative is Obama's – and none dare call it treason.

I went for a walk this morning on the grounds of the Theosophical Society here in Chennai. I was overwhelmed by the strange beauty of this (to me) still foreign land. There was bamboo, innumerable species of of cacti, bougainvillea; banyan, peepal trees and magnolia; coconut and date palms; and much that I couldn’t identify. There were crows, ravens and mynah birds; water buffalo, Brahma bulls pulling carts. I even saw a warthog crashing through the underbrush trying to get a better look at me.

I suddenly realized that I was looking for a country to call home. My own country is gone. I no longer feel comfortable in calling myself an ‘American’. I can feel only pity for a people - burdened by faux guilt and blinded by celebrity worship - who have allowed themselves and future generations to be enslaved by unfathomable debt while, at the same time, steadily slipping the constraints of principle and thinking it is freedom.