The American Terrorist
By: Barry Gander
Tags: Leadership, America, Democracy, Terrorism, Covid 19

Civic leadership was harsh but often effective in the earlier “Spanish Influenza”

In the past six decades alone, American terrorists have killed as many citizens, and destroyed as much wealth, as were consumed in America’s bloodiest conflict: the Civil War. If they continue, they will wreak havoc on a scale that will make entire Civil War look small.

The terrorists who have crippled America — who have caused death and economic ruin on a Civil War scale — are America’s own leadership.

America’s friends are in agony: those of us who live abroad, have to try to explain the land and the people who we love, to others who only see the death and depredation. I know that Americans are the most generous, friendly people in the world…but its leaders have not been worthy of the trust they have been given.

This wreckage of America’s reputation comes at a time when people around the world should be shouting out their love for America! The world’s spotlight could be shining on super-hero America: friend to poor nations; champion of democracy; pioneer of a fair deal for the average guy; and lander-on-the-moon!

This destruction goes beyond the acts of single individuals, to the realm of systemic failure in the American structure of representation. Because of the ongoing concentration of wealth and power in Washington, American democracy has not been able to ‘hold the line’ and push back against the corrosive transfer of power to individual elected officials who seek to exploit the system.

This has blinded individuals in the ruling circles to a bigger vision for America — one where a war is not fought to enrich contractors, and pandemics are not a tool to enrich the wealthy.

These wealth-blinded Terrorists have let slip the dogs of war and plague into America’s home, where they are creating a death-scroll unmatched since the guns fired on Fort Sumter in 1861.

In unneeded wars alone — in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam — they have caused the deaths of 65,000 of their fellow citizens since 1965. This does not count the 4.5-million people who Americans killed as “collateral damage” during their fighting. None of these wars were necessary; none of them achieved anything; none of them needed to be fought.

These deaths pale compared to the numbers caused by American leaders’ response to COVID. ”Inept” would be a kind description. In the open-ended cost of the COVID response[1], where an American is dying every second, as many Americans will likely have died before the pandemic is over as have been killed in the Civil War: more than 600,000. How many were avoidable? An international comparison shows that at least half of America’s COVID deaths were avoidable, given leadership on common-sense civic duties like mask-wearing and social distancing.

If we add in the war deaths, we find a total of almost 700,000 Americans, killed by their own leaders.

America’s decision-makers have botched their role so badly, that terrorists from abroad can only look on in envy and say: “Wish I’d thought of that!”

In treasure, these avoidable wars and the avoidable losses in the recent pandemic amount to $9.4-trillion. This is equal to half of America’s domestic economy of $20-trillion — flushed away by decisions made by the American Terrorists. And it gets better: there is a bill coming in the next ten years for another $8-trillion, for COVID.

This is terrorism on the Grandest Possible scale! In America’s bloodiest conflict, the Civil War ate up two years’ worth of it full GDP[2]. Spread over its four-year span, the Civil War cost America half of its GDP each year — the same amount as its current avoidable wars and pestilence. America’s leadership since 1965 has thus blown away wealth equal to the cost of one full year of fighting the Civil War!

American leadership — a leadership that destroys without any plan, with only an etching, self-serving greed — makes the Taliban look like ants.

Should America despair? No. These leaders can be replaced. America can once again by led by visionaries like Lincoln and Kennedy. Any nation that has produced a leader who said “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”[3]; which elected a leader who inspired a landing on the moon,[4] can rise again to be the admired champion of the world.

To do this, America must fight its greatest battle so far: a battle against self-interest, on behalf of the nation.

The alternative is to keep fighting the Civil War, for the next decade. While a vaccine is hopefully going halt the COVID virus by Spring, the actions that brought the crises into play will still be a permanent feature and failure of America’s Terrorist leadership. Perhaps the next “COVID crises” will bring Americans together into a new social pact; a renewal of its constitution and of American will.

This has always been the American way: crises and cure. Hopefully, this time we will get radically difference leadership, from a radicalized electorate.

It will come just in time: the biggest crises of all is about to come: the elimination of ‘jobs’ by AI. More later…

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaharziv/2020/06/02/coronavirus-pandemic-will-cost-us-economy-8-trillion/#e823c2815e41 $8-Trillion now and $16-Trillion over the next 10 years. Half of that was avoidable = $4-T. $4-T + $5.4-T for avoidable wars = $9.4-T, or 47% of GDP of $20-T

[2] https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/the-economics-of-the-civil-war.html

[3] Abraham Lincoln

[4] John F. Kennedy