It’s unfair to let the US tackle global crises alone

US President Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2015. PHOTO | NICHOLAS KAMM |  AFP

In Summary

• We Americans, I explained, feel that Obama took over during the worst financial crisis in history, and the American economy is now moving upward.
• If a vote was held in South Africa today, both issues would likely be overturned by the majority.
• When you are an American, you get used to others looking over your shoulder.

By RANDALL SMITH
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A South African friend told me this week that he was deeply worried about America.

I asked him why, and he quickly rattled off several points:

Congress is dysfunctional, he said. It cannot agree on anything and it is keeping America from moving forward.

President Barack Obama is a disappointment, he continued. He should have been a one-term president who righted all of America’s wrongs in his first four years. Instead, he said, Obama has continued an American programme of mediocrity.

America is losing stature in the world. China is about to overtake America on several economic measurements and the United States is not providing strong leadership on many world problems.

We Americans, I explained, feel that Obama took over during the worst financial crisis in history, and the American economy is now moving upward. The dollar is strong and many American companies have been saved from ruin.

As for being the world leader, I argued that it is best when many countries contribute to solutions. Too long, European leaders and others have not had to spend defence dollars and have hidden behind the might of the American military.

And while it is true that our Congress is deeply divided, America has been able to make the right decisions when big issues were at stake.

For example, we elected our first African American president and we’ have been playing a large role in tackling the Aids crisis. But my friend would hear none of this. He offered that America had two other critical problems: A lack of constitutionality and too much democracy.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

His definition of constitutionality: A set of standards written by the country’s brightest legal minds, in consultation with the people, that lay out a vision for the future. South Africa’s constitution, he noted, was an excellent example.

The constitution, written over many decades, outlaws execution of criminals and upholds gay marriage. If a vote was held in South Africa today, both issues would likely be overturned by the majority.

In America, I explained, we are working through these things painfully and state by state. Gay marriage is allowed in over 30 states and the death penalty is banned in a few. But these laws represent the will of the people — not an elite body.

On democracy, my friend thought Americans could learn something from China, where more people than ever have been pulled out of poverty. If America was ruled more firmly, he said, many social ills could be resolved, an example being the economic disparity in places like Ferguson and Baltimore.

There is no disputing that America’s social ills need dramatic attention. But I wondered whether real, unifying progress can occur if the public is not behind the solution.

My friend asked if he had upset me with his criticisms of my country. Absolutely, not, I said.

When you are an American, you get used to others looking over your shoulder.

And, we always learn a great deal from our critics.