Is the US irrational?
Russia and China, as well as some of Americas closest allies, are questioning the rationality of the countrys politics. Not only that, Moscow and Beijing view the US as a nation in decline. Indeed, they point to the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill as the final proof. For when American presidents continuously assert the countrys exceptionalism while touting the importance of democracy prevailing over authoritarianism  such contradictions become too profound to ignore. Of course, much of this is pure propaganda. The US is home to the worlds largest economy; wields enormous global influence; boasts the most formidable military, arguably; and remains the preferred destination for many seeking freedom and the opportunity for a better life. Yet, this does not address all the symptoms of irrationality. Let us consider the following: the US has been hit by two back-to-back waves of COVID-19 and gun violence; concerns over voting rights; the absence of civility and compromise; and prevailing culture wars. The nation was divided on an almost exclusively partisan basis over mask-wearing and anti-coronavirus immunisation. Despite scientific evidence underscoring how both reduce the risk and spread of infections while pointing out that vaccinations build resistance and immunity to the virus. Naturally, pregnancy and underlying health issues are reason enough for people to eschew inoculation. However, with the rampant spread of the more highly infectious Delta variant, it is inconceivable that individuals would risk contagion when prevention is both available and effective. The difference today from 25 or 50 years ago is the fundamental contradiction arising from globalisation and the diffusion of power. As societies became more advanced and affluent, greater vulnerabilities and fragilities to disruption were created geometrically  Media reports that talk of an epidemic of gun violence may be hyperbolic. Certainly, to most foreign observers Americas love affair with firearms seems irrational. While the spate of mass shootings likewise appears inconceivable in a civilised nation. No other country  unless engaged in civil war or overrun by terrorists  has such high levels of gun violence. Elsewhere, the US prides itself on extending the vote to every eligible citizen. Yet voting rights have become incredibly politicised. Conventional wisdom ought to dictate that everything possible be done to ensure fair, free, secure and open elections. However, the current political debate suggests the opposite. Included in this litany is the absence of compromise and civility  although at the time of writing it appears that the White House, Congress, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on an infrastructure bill. Hostility and a toxic political atmosphere have made governing a zero-sum game in which you are either for or against and forever unwilling to seek middle ground. And even to non-Americans, any system built on checks-and-balances meant to limit power, reach and authority of the central government will not work unless one party has veto-proof control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue (connecting the White House to the Capitol) and the Supreme Court; a crisis to force consensus; or civility and compromise to close the differences. None is in evidence. Last, the cultural civil wars over inequality, economic disparity and social justice are being fought over wokeness and addressing  or not  the past sins of slavery, systemic or institutional racism and critical (and ill-defined) race theory. Being caught on the wrong side of the fence can lead to professional or social suicide. To some, the most serious threat to the US is neither China nor Russia, a weaker foreign power or non-state actor. Rather, it is the famous and politically charged comic strip character Pogo Possum who represents Everyman and lives among the denizens of Okefenokee Swamp. On one memorable occasion, Pogo mimicked the great naval battle cry: We have met the enemy and it is us. That we still fail to recognise the weight of these words only supercharges existing irrationality against an apparently unrecognised element. During the Cold War, MAD, (Mutual Assured Destruction), was shorthand for preventing the existential disaster of thermonuclear war. Today, a new MAD threatens not only the nation but the Constitution and the political system alike: Massive Attacks of Disruption. And the unmistakable prophets of doom include Covid-19; unprecedented storms, fires and floods precipitated by climate change; cyber attacks that cut off gasoline and power supplies; social media that propagate fake news and orchestrated disinformation campaigns; and the inability of the government to respond rationally. These failures intensify the seemingly irrational elements of society exacerbating already deteriorating degrees of disagreement, desperation, division and societal tensions. What is profoundly different today from 25 or 50 years ago is the fundamental contradiction arising from globalisation and the diffusion of power. As societies became more advanced and affluent, greater vulnerabilities and fragilities to disruption were created geometrically. Understanding and reacting to the new MAD will not cure all that ails us. But it will go a long way to reducing these irrationalities that plague the US. Dr Harlan Ullman is Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council. His latest book due out this year is The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large