Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 23rd, title: Ice and Fire | "Rage" burns the United States, and the "civil war" has begun?
Author Gan Tian Kong Qingling
"No one wants to believe that the democracy they love is in decline, or heading to war. But by some measures, a second American Civil War has begun."
A commentary in the American "National Interest" magazine said so.
This year, gun violence has become more serious, and the "soul" of the United States has been torn apart; ordinary people's rights have been used as bargaining chips in party struggle, and "American democracy" has run wild on the cracks; "American style first" frequently gets angry.
Under the heavy "anger", the United States is even more chaotic...
Data map: A shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, USA on May 24. The picture shows people mourning the victims.
"American cancer", burning with anger
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The United States has the highest death rate from gun violence among developed countries in the world.
In the past 30 years, more than 1 million people have been killed by guns.
Since 2022, this number has exceeded 40,000.
Jess Luwanos, 10, is one of them.
Every morning, Luwanos makes a pot of coffee for his grandparents.
Until May 24, an 18-year-old high school student rushed into the classroom of Rob Elementary School in Texas and shot wildly. Luwanos and 18 of his classmates fell in a pool of blood and never returned home.
In a panic, 11-year-old Mia Carrillo smeared the blood of a classmate who was shot next to her, "making herself look as if she was dead", and escaped.
Gun violence has pierced the heart of the United States like a poisonous arrow, and it has penetrated deep into the bone marrow like a cancer that is difficult to get rid of.
Oliver, the father who experienced the pain of losing his son in the shooting, was angry. "Although we try our best to stop the shooting, it still exists. You never know where it will happen tomorrow."
How can the tragedy be avoided from repeating itself?
Americans already have the answer in their hearts.
Thousands of demonstrators have rallied across the United States to demand that Congress pass gun control laws.
Under heavy pressure, the two parties in the United States finally reached a compromise and introduced the so-called "first major gun control bill in nearly 30 years."
But the irony is that in less than a month, on July 4th "Independence Day", there was another deadly shooting at the celebrations in Illinois.
American anger reignited: What could be more American than a vicious shooting on a day celebrating freedom?
The gun problem is difficult to solve, and the "American dream" has become an "American disease".
What this reflects is that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, and domestic violent extremists have become a new threat to the United States.
The money entanglement between gun-supporting interest groups and politicians is too deep. After all, the gun control bill is only a "scratch" and it is difficult to become a "cure" to get rid of the cancer.
Data map: On June 24, people in San Francisco, USA gathered in front of the City Hall to protest against the US Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade case.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
"American Democracy", "Cracking" Fire Attacks Hearts
"America could be plunged into civil war at the next election... people are divided!"
The Civil War is another hot social topic in the United States this year.
As the "war" for abortion rights rages on, the anger of opposition is rolling and burning in the hearts of Americans.
Opponents of abortion rights were quick to cheer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Trump described it as "the biggest victory in a generation" and credited it with putting three conservative justices on the court during his presidency.
Abortion rights supporters held large-scale demonstrations in many places, and some people burned American flags in the street to protest the sad "regression".
In Ohio, a 10-year-old child who became pregnant due to rape caused an uproar because of a court ruling that he could not undergo an abortion.
"Today in the United States, it feels like there are two very divided ethnic groups in one country. Now, they are farther apart from each other." Controversial social issues are used as political chips to add fuel to the fire.
Looking back at the reality version of "Game of Thrones" this year, the FBI raided Trump's private residence, opened the safe, and took away a large number of confidential documents. This is undoubtedly the most dramatic scene.
The surge in political violence triggered by the incident has ignited another "political powder keg", raising the risk of a civil war. Trump supporters have called for arms to launch a "civil war", and law enforcement officers have received death threats. , the nightmare of congressional riots is approaching.
Before and after the mid-term elections, the struggle between the two parties became more intense.
When canvassing votes on the platform, there was a lot of talk. Biden criticized Trump for extremism that "threats the foundation of the United States", while the latter responded that the other party was the "enemy of the country"; Republican fans "hyped" Twitter during the 2020 election Once deleted posts for Biden's son, the Democratic-controlled Congressional Riot Investigation Committee will submit criminal charges against Trump to the Justice Department.
"American-style democracy" has intensified the chaos.
And as Trump officially announced his candidacy, the Biden team began to prepare for the general election. A "war" without gunpowder is already on the way.
On December 1, local time, after a press conference in the East Room of the White House, Biden stood with Macron.
"American style first" is hot
"America will not apologize for this, and neither will I."
This is the truest attitude of the United States towards its close allies.
When Europe is worried about winter, the United States not only sells high-priced energy and weapons to it, but also introduces the "Inflation Reduction Act" with "discriminatory subsidies".
French President Macron went to the United States to complain to Biden about this, but in return Biden said "no apology".
European MPs are very annoyed - if the United States does not make concessions on trade protectionist policies, it will go to the "nuclear option"!
At a time when swords are on the verge of breaking out, a trade war seems imminent, and former close allies are drifting away and facing the risk of "divorce".
As its attitude toward its Atlantic allies is getting colder, the United States has turned to other regions to form gangs and fan the flames.
Behind the flames of war in the Middle East, there is almost always the figure of the United States.
This year, the United States tried to win over many countries to build a "Middle East version of NATO", which intensified regional tensions.
However, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and other countries did not buy it. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal directly "slapped his face" after Biden's trip to the Middle East and said that he did not know of any discussions on the formation of a defense alliance between the Gulf countries and Israel, and neither did Saudi Arabia. Participate in such negotiations.
In the Asia-Pacific, the United States officially launched the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" and promoted the so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy".
Anna Malenberg-Uy, a researcher at the BRICS Policy Research Institute in the Philippines, criticized that the United States' continuous attempts to create division and confrontation in the Asia-Pacific will only create chaos and instability in the region and aggravate the concerns of Asia-Pacific countries.
In the chaos and anger, has the United States lost its way?
The self-proclaimed "Lighthouse of Democracy", but its various actions demonstrate the double-standard nature of "black under the lights".
Under the impact of the storm of anger, will "The Disunited States of America" (The Disunited States of America) become a reality someday in the future?