Elizabeth Morgan | US presidential elections: Over a precipice or holding the line?

By the time this article is published, the US elections will be over and there should be some idea of who has won – whether it is the Democratic candidate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, making history as the first woman to become US President, or the Republican, former President Donald Trump, also making some history as only the second person, after Grover Cleveland in 1892, to be re-elected president after leaving the White House.

Either that or the USA will be embroiled in controversy and legal suits, or worse, to determine who has won.

The USA impacts the life of many people around the world, including us in the Caribbean. For us in Jamaica, it is our major trading partner in goods and services; nearly two million people of Jamaican descent live there; and the relationship, with its ups and downs, dates back to colonial times. Despite the known social and cultural challenges, we have had confidence in US democracy and relative political stability.

Many of us in previous election cycles have not been very concerned about who wins the US presidency, Democrat or Republican. We did not concern ourselves with what happened in the congressional elections. Those were seen as internal US matters. We followed, if we did, for general interest as we did not expect anything earth-shattering to happen besides the usual US positions and superpower attitude.

Some may have thought that Jamaica and other CARICOM members fared better under a Republican president since Ronald Reagan and the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The US foreign policy towards the Caribbean, whether by Republicans or Democrats, have amounted to benign benevolence, with the main issues addressed being security and immigration. President Barack Obama gave attention to energy. President Trump talked of investments. Basically, it could be argued that nothing extraordinary came from these US foreign policy positions.

For the past several years, however, with cable TV and the astounding developments in US politics, revealing its very murky side, many of us have been following developments there, frequently in disbelief. Political ambition, love of power, lack of integrity, and cowardice have influenced the actions of many American politicians.

We are seeing political polarisation at its worst and a highly politicised system of governance. The checks and balances are vulnerable. In fact, one could venture to suggest that the entire US governance system is in dire need of review and reform.

We are hearing talk of gerrymandering of constituency boundaries, election rigging, voter suppression, vote-buying, illegal voting, and the list goes on, sounding very Third World. In addition, we saw a very manipulable electorate. As a result, we even saw an attempted insurrection on January 6, 2021.

It is noted that since 2016, we have seen some very poor examples of politicians in the US and on the global stage.

US STAR TARNISHED

The US claims to be the world’s greatest democracy, and the leader of the free world, whether it is wanted or not. There is the belief that the nation is exceptional in the world and in human history, given its values, political system, and historical development. Thus, it has almost a divine right to set the example for the world and to ensure that all other countries toe the line.

We in the Caribbean and other countries have no vote in the US elections, but decisions made there affect us, and we know it. Many of us have been very concerned about the possible outcome of the presidential and congressional elections. We heard deeply troubling pronouncements from the campaign. We heard policy proposals which could have detrimental implications for the region and a global economy already facing multiple crises.

The campaign has tarnished the US’s star. It is not looking so exceptional. It seemed that in the choice in these elections, the US could be rolling towards the edge of a precipice, which threatens its claim of exceptionalism.

WHO REALLY ARE AMERICANS?

Regardless of the result, questions must be asked about who Americans really are. The picture being painted of a large segment of the US population in the 21st century is spine-chilling. They are advocates of extreme conservatism, including racism, xenophobia, religious bigotry, gun-owning fanaticism, and isolationism. They are willing to sacrifice democracy and the ideals of the US Constitution in chasing a false premise.

They promote an American dream which has been a nightmare for many, including many of them. This is not to say that concerns do not exist about extremes of liberalism. The hope would be for balance and moderation in policies.

Let us hope and pray that as the day dawns, we will be seeing that good sense prevailed in the USA and a majority of their electors were able to seal victory in the Electoral College, pulling the country back from the brink and holding the line. The alternative could herald despair.

Many of us, as onlookers, would like to see a return to normality – to the US with which we have a love-dislike relationship. The hope has to be that whatever the result, the flag, the star-spangled banner, will continue to wave “o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.