Ayoon Wa Azan (A failing American congress)

The Americans represent a first world population while the Congress belongs to the third…or the thirtieth world. I am writing this piece on Wednesday morning and I do not know how the crisis of the American ceiling of debt will be solved. I do not know if the ceiling will be raised so that the debt is paid on time or whether it will be maintained as it is, which means that the world will be facing the threat of another economic crisis. I do know however that the US House of Representatives has cornered itself and is now unable to find a solution to its dilemma. The House of Representatives is challenging the Obama administration and has pushed America and the entire world in this confrontation. Let us wait and see what will happen today, which constitutes the deadline for raising the present ceiling of debt. A few days ago, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held their annual meeting in Washington. During the meeting, every governmental official, bank director, and major firm on the planet warned the Americans against the persistence of the crisis. Anyone who knows anything about the world of “business” including the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has warned against this. However, the Republican Party – namely the Rightist wing including the religious and political fanatics – is proceeding with the errors despite everything. I sometimes feel that the American southerners, mainly the Bible Belt people, are trying to get back at the Northerners for winning the civil war in 1865 and abolishing slavery. However, the present issue is deeper and wider. The American Right that supported the wars of George W. Bush and thus caused the international fiscal crisis in 2008 does not want to admit its loss. It is rather trying to hold the present American President, Barack Obama, responsible for this loss. The Right might very well say that Obama is responsible for killing a million Arabs and Muslims in addition to more than 6,000 American men and women and is also “responsible” for George W. Bush’s other crises. The murder of people regardless of their religion or sect is the most important of all crimes. However, the economic part is also important and clear. The United States alone used to represent one third of the entire world economy and now represents only a quarter of it. China will soon outrun it and become the world’s largest economy. The leaders of the Republican Party know what I am talking about. They know even more. However, they do not want to back down, although all recent opinion polls are holding them responsible. This means that they will be paying the price for their attitude during the mid-term elections a year from now. Many things can happen during this year and other issues will emerge. However, I believe that the radical Republicans will be laughing at the Americans and fooling them again. Like I said above, the Americans are a first world population that chose a third world Congress to represent it. The people have and are still paying the price for that on a daily basis. To clarify things for the Arab readers, the Republicans won the majority of the seats in the House of Representatives in 2012 thanks to districting. However, the Democrat party obtained a clear majority among the voters during those elections. This outcome reminds me of how George W. Bush stole the elections in 2000. Back then, the Democrats’ candidate, Al Gore, obtained a majority of half a million votes during the presidential elections. However, Bush stole the elections by stealing the votes of the Florida representatives. This time, the price might not consist of a million dead Arabs and Muslims. However, this crisis will definitely break the American economy and wear down the international economy unless the republicans were to change their mind at the last minute. Again, I am writing this piece on Wednesday morning, London time. Washington is still asleep and might wake up today, but it will never wake up from its long hibernation. I believe that the Republicans are staging a suicide mission and the only victims will fall among the Republicans themselves. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arab Today.