The Quagmire of American Politics: American Dream Or Nightmare?

USA is a very special country. It is the first modern democracy, built by rebels of the British Empire. The US Declaration of independence drawn up in 1776 was a truly inspiring and monumental document. Nevertheless, it remained a shameful part of its history that in the process of the colonization and the building of the new America, large numbers of native Americans were systematically killed and driven off their lands. These native people were so terribly preyed on and exploited that they were reduced to almost extinction in their own homeland. This book traces how USA became an expansionist nation by snapping up new territories by legal means or otherwise since its creation. Slavery and the civil war are also among the painful legacy of the country. However, USA eventually rose to become a colonial, industrial, and military behemoth. And after the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991, it becomes the world's sole superpower. But, over the years, the quirky political system of USA has grown to become sclerotic and even self-defeating. The blatantly unfair capitalists-funded and controlled election system, the deepening inequality, the pork-barrel politics, and the racial discrimination and virtual segregation in housing, education, and social policies have become very complex issues in a deeply divided America. These are compounded by the high crime rates, drug epidemics, decaying urban centres, gun violence, social discord and the seemingly intractable immigration problems. The book describes how the quagmire of the US presidential system has turned the American dream into a nightmare. The black swan president Trump has in a mere four years turned America upside down and pushed the world to the brink of world war 3. America's problem is exacerbated by the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the terrible economic turmoil. How did Trump's re-election campaign pan out in 2020? How would this election affect this great special nation and the whole world? Are we going to have a Dr Jekyll or a Mr Hyde as the de facto emperor of America? These are the critical questions for the world to ponder and which this book seeks to address from a wide range of new perspectives.