Death of a Nation: The Signs
/Since the birth of this nation, its violent conception pre-determined the fate of the United States. Was “America” predestined to fall? When past grievances and wrongs are addressed or corrected and those impacted egregiously are acknowledged and compensated, can a country gain merit to change its karmic trajectory.
This nation, the United States of America, is falling. This statement is not one expressed lightly. The historical patterns of a nation in crisis and on the brink of irreversible social upheaval are being documented by this nation’s media in diverse ways continuously.
Recent media coverage in the past 6 years has addressed the state of our union and its potential to an internalized racialized war. Examples include, an article by an Opinion Columnist for USA Today, “Is America headed towards a civil war?” and a podcast with a similar title on The New York Times website, “Is America Headed for Another Civil War?” which was broadcast October 12, 2022. Time Magazine, under its Ideas and Politics section posted, “The US is Headed Toward a Second Civil War. Here is How to Avoid it" (October 20, 2022). Lastly, Politico, wrote a recent article this year, April 21, 2023, “The Threat of Civil Breakdown is Real,” which similar to the aforementioned, attempted to use their platforms as a wake-up call to “America” to dissect concerns about the probabilities of a violent national dissolution.
The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, NPR, Rolling Stone, and numerous collegiate media outlets, such as the Harvard Gazette, have written about the volatile crossroads that the United States is in. Some articles published have been on the impending doom of the nation, while others have opposed the notion and likelihood of a civil war.
Columnists from news outlets like the Washington Post and The New Yorker are periodically addressing the present state of the social, political, and economic climate in this country and its relation to the US becoming a fallen state. A paper and media trail are being left for us to take heed. Is denial and complacency getting in the way of “us” taking notice of the signs (i.e., warnings).
Let’s switch gears: This nation has become accustomed to protests, rallies, and various forms of civil disobedience by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities to give a discourse to the racial oppression they experience. Due to the normalization of these tactics that are used, the level of internal strife is not processed as a nation-dismantling threat.
There are several events that have taken place that are glaringly self-evident that the death of this nation is on its way. Two events received global recognition and support. The other event globally re-certified the divisive cracks in US society that continue to deepen.
One pivotal turning point that took place in this nation, in the Native Lives Matter Movement in 2016, was the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline Protests. This event brought black and white allies to the Pine Ridge Reservation; yet, most importantly over 500 Indigenous tribes from the US, Canada, and South America came as well. Water protectors, in peaceful protests, were met with water hoses, dogs, and Indigenous women being caged. This event can be deemed as Native American’s Selma Alabama moment.
In May 2020, the Black Lives Matter protests, which started out as a national outcry over “black deaths,” but evolved into a global racial-social reckoning, occurred. It was the largest social justice protest ever to take place in the US. Protests took place in almost all 50 states simultaneously. The world was not only watching but also participating and supporting The Movement.
The other domestic watershed moment that occurred was the attempted coup d’état on January 6, 2021. The storming of the state capital with the intent to take over the government signified the extremism of “white-lash.” It was the precursory sign to the type of event that takes place right before the full throttle of an unstoppable social upheaval.
The January 6th coup attempt has fizzled out and become an out-of-sight, out-of-mind subject matter for mainstream ‘America.’ It has not been forgotten by BIPOC communities and the activists who see the signs of US deterioration.
The three communities that are the original entities of the establishment of the US have gone through milestones that were either met with state-sanctioned militarized force and/or executed to incite political and social violence.
The double standard treatment received by the Black and Native Lives Matter Movement to that of the majority white coup agitators during their resistance actions gave more evidence to solidify why this nation is barely hanging on by a thread.
We are historically positioned for the proverbial “quiet storm,” before the needle that broke the camel’s back occurrence takes place. We have already had our somewhat “Storming of the Bastille” moment (i.e., Minneapolis). COVID temporarily halted the revolutionary uprising sweeps that followed the George Floyd-inspired movement giving the nation an unstable reprieve.
In order for the death of a nation not to occur its citizens have to be invested in its social development and growth. A progress that is inclusive and beneficial to all no matter how painstakingly uncomfortable it might be.
The instability of the US is magnified by its white counterparts who are unwilling to come to the table to discuss and heal past and ongoing traumas and grievances. That in itself is a sign of what is inevitable when benefitting segments of society refuse to work on conciliation with the ones its nation has wronged.
The biggest threat to this nation is racism. This country already had one war based on race. Must it have another one in order to right the wrongs of the past and present? Does the death of this nation have to occur in order for its rebirth and re-establishment to reflect what a true democratic republic should be?