Jawed Anwar

I have followed American politics and elections since 1998, first as a journalist and then as editor of Muslims Weekly in New York, which has since closed. Even after I moved to Canada in 2006, my interest in American politics never faded. Many important points need to be addressed.

In this article, we will first discuss the dark side of American politics and its system. Then we will look at the bright side of the American people. Finally, we will see how Muslim Americans can help make America great.

Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, 1925–1965) writes in The Autobiography of Malcolm X:

"'Conservatism' in America's politics means 'Let's keep the niggers in their place.' And 'liberalism' means 'Let's keep the knee-grows in their place – but tell them we'll treat them a little better; let's fool them more, with more promises.' With these choices, I felt that the American black man only needed to choose which one to be eaten by, the 'liberal' fox or the 'conservative' wolf – because both of them would eat him. [At least] in a wolf's den, I'd always known exactly where I stood; I'd watch the dangerous wolf closer than I would the smooth, sly fox. The wolf's very growling would keep me alert and fight him to survive, whereas I might be lulled and fooled by the tricky fox."

There have always been some Black Americans in Congress, and America has even had a Black president. But has life for Black Americans really changed? Did the American wolf or fox ever stop devouring them?

Did the wolf or the fox ever stop the genocide in Palestine? Did either one stop genocide anywhere in the world? In fact, America is involved in many of the world's genocides.

Milton Leitenberg, a researcher on war deaths, estimates that about 231 million people died in wars and conflicts in the 20th century alone, with a range of 225.5 to 237.5 million. America's involvement in these deaths is significant.

Now a new way of killing is in use: birth control, abortion, pornography, and gender-identity ideology promoted as sex education, along with gender-change therapy. Dangerous vaccines are also being given to people in several parts of the world, through deception, to control births.

Human beings kill their own kind, driven by evil ideologies: Zionism, imperialism, nationalism, capitalism, the worship of profit, selfishness, lust, and corporatism. Most of these killings around the world have been supported or led by the United States and Europe. Remember too that looting and plunder around the world (Venezuela is a recent example) and arms sales to nations at war have built up America's economy, resources, and military power.

The US Constitution was written, signed, and ratified in 1788. From 1788 to 2024 is 236 years. In that time, 47 men have served as president, and the presidency has changed hands between several parties mainly between Republican and Democrat.

Presidential elections are held every four years, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Every two years, all 435 members of the House of Representatives, who serve two-year terms, are elected, along with about one-third of the 100 Senators, who serve six-year terms. Elections held halfway through a president’s term are called midterm elections. Most state governors serve four-year terms. Thirty-six states elect their governors in midterm years, 11 in presidential years, and five (Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia) in odd-numbered years. New Hampshire and Vermont elect their governors every two years. In most states, all members of the lower house of the legislature serve two-year terms and are elected every two years. State senators usually serve four-year terms, staggered so that about half are elected each cycle. Under the 22nd Amendment, a president can serve no more than two terms, but members of Congress have no term limits.

In practice, America has a two-party system, and the choice it offers is mostly an illusion. Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same coin. They argue loudly over slogans but rarely disagree on what matters most. Both stand on the same foundations: capitalism, nationalism, and corporatism.

Whichever party is in power, real power stays with corporations, special-interest groups, lobbies, big donors, and a small political class. This materialist ideology, shaped by a long history of racism, measures human worth by profit. It has fed on the labor, resources, and lives of people at home and around the world, and it still does.

To be continued in the next article.

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