Remember when America used to “export democracy”? Freedom to Iraq, human rights to Syria, order to Latin America... And there was their favorite excuse: “Fighting totalitarian regimes.” Can we say that the U.S. has now brought its “exported democracy” back to its own country?
In California, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided workplaces wearing masks and carrying automatic weapons. Their crime was being immigrants. Some were deported within 48 hours. Protesters were met with pepper spray, plastic bullets and sound bombs... Journalists were arrested. Some were shot with plastic bullets. Despite the governor's objections, U.S. President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 soldiers and 700 Marines onto the streets.
That wasn't enough. Trump came out and said exactly this: “Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness here at home, like is happening in California. As Commander in Chief, I will not let that happen. It's never going to happen,”
It turns out that thousands of American soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam shed their blood so that immigrants could live comfortably in California. It turns out that the wars were not for freedom, but to maintain order in California.
We are truly concerned. Because the American empire now sees “invasion” not only abroad but also within its borders. And the solution is to deploy the military onto the streets. We saw similar scenes during the Black Lives Matter protests against the unjust killing of Black Americans by the police.
Back then, over 100 journalists were arrested. Now the curtain is different, but the scene is the same: protests, images and objections are banned. But there is no shame.
America no longer exports democracy. It has imported totalitarianism and is now testing it on its own people. And believe me, we are not surprised as we watch from the outside. Even children no longer believe in the fairy tale of the "land of freedom." The masks have fallen, and the actors have gone silent. We are truly concerned!
