O Leadership, where art thou?

As the rest of the world looks on, the United States of America, once positioned as the leading light of democracy and freedom, now lies divided, the dream shattered by its own Leader. What we have seen over the last four years has been the gradual destruction of the political landscape of the nation, with the Republican Party failing completely in its role of the leading the nation.

After four hard years of abusive, divisive and racist leadership, the Republican party’s legacy is truly shocking. When it came to power under the leadership of Trump, it took over a nation which had spent 8 years in the care of one of the most respected presidents in the modern era. Obama inherited an imploding economy and turned it around, he expanded health care for all Americans, and he led the nation for eight years without any real crisis, though critics would argue his foreign policy was weak and racial tensions increased under his presidency.

Obama handed over a nation that was on the way up. Four years later that nation is in disarray, shocked to it’s very core by the level of anger, hatred and racism that has spread across the nation. In a mere four years, that nation that had turned itself around is now in physical and political lockdown. The actions of Trump tore the very spirit of the American Constitution to shreds. Rather than acting like the most powerful statesman in the world, he acted more like a mafia boss, seeking to abuse his power and influence to get his way.

His destruction of the American Constitution was undertaken in January, in which, after trying to corrupt the outcome of a free and fair election, similar to a third-rate tyrant, he incited a riot within the Capital, placing the Congress under assault, resulting in the death of five individuals. His rule of hatred finished in an active attack on the symbol of America’s freedom, with the halls of congress stained with blood, covered in shattered glass and broken dreams.

The disaster does not stop there. The Republican party still bury their heads in the sands, with 197 standing by their tyrant, while the House of Representatives voted to hold him accountable for his most recent crimes. In four years the Republican party has actively sought to destroy its reputation as a political party, demonstrating clearly it is not fit to lead a nation, as few in the party ever demonstrated moral courage or the need to act.

All this occurred while America is at war with a deadly, often unseen foe. Covid-19 kills more citizens in a day than those that were killed in the 9-11 attacks. Over 10,000 US troops now garrison the Capital; more than the total combined deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, two apparent war zones. Not since 1861 were US soldiers required to sleep in congress to protect it from attack.

Under the four years of Republican party rule, the US went from the beacon of democracy to standing on the edge of being a failed state. That is the legacy of the Republican party’s era in control. The lesson for other western nations is very clear; if the political class will not rule effectively and with dignity, then their nation will become dysfunctional, broken and stand on the edge of the abyss. Just ask the Americans