Why is America so close to being ripped apart, with differences that appear to be irreconcilable?

The United States, with its vast diversity in ethnic and religious groups as well as political perspectives, has not, with the exception of when the Union was divided by those who sought to preserve slavery, been torn asunder.

That reason is twofold.

The First Amendment allowed contentious perspectives to play out to the fullest extent. All the shouting and arguing resulted in volatile differences being aired out and defused.

A fair election system, invigorated and fueled by journalism, made solving differences at the ballot box instead of the battlefield a viable alternative to violence and division.

These attributes have been misunderstood abroad. According to one former State Department official, The Chinese government believed that during the 2000 “hanging chad” election, the nation was about to be tossed into massive disorder.

Those two unique civic virtues are now being threatened.

The censorship imposed by social media giants, and the “cancel culture” throughout academia, the media, and corporate America has prevented honest and thorough discourse in the public square. Those challenges are magnified by a journalistic environment that has changed emphasis from informing the public, to telling the public what to think.

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A study in Tablet found that “Between 2017 and 2018, trust in media…dropped from 47% to 42%. Trust in government declined even more precipitously, with a 14-percentage-point drop in the number of people who said they trusted the U.S. to ‘do what is right.’ While those numbers rebounded by a few points in 2019, Americans’ overall faith in the country remained dismal: A mere 20%…And that’s the insidious thing about a culture where trust is eroding: A majority of people don’t even have to support or participate in cancel culture for it to wreak havoc on society at large…Without trust, we become fearful and desperate to exert control. Instead of terrorism or violence or a boogeyman lurking in the bushes with a gun and a roll of duct tape, we suspect the ordinary person sitting next to us, who suspects us in return. We are less charitable, more judgmental, and more likely to go to extremes—including violence…”

It is undeniable that the 2020 election has torn America further apart than at any time since the 1860’s. The harsh divide did not end with the conclusion of the balloting and the inauguration of the new president. The reasons for that are due to both censorship and cancel culture, as well as the appropriate loss of confidence in the electoral system itself.

Terrified editors of both print and electric media mandate that writers and newscasters preface remarks about the very real irregularities in the 2020 ballot with disclaimers that the complaints are false, despite an almost overwhelming abundance of evidence that procedures were changed without the required legislative approval. A mere mention of the phrase “Stolen Election” may get one kicked off of YouTube and Facebook. 

Journalists, who in the past have been so vital a part of the electoral system by keeping the people informed and allowing discourse to replace discord, utterly failed in their duty during the last presidential election.  Their extreme partisanship in favor of Biden was undeniable.  That trait was made far worse by their willingness to lie on his behalf, and obscure key facts concerning major issues that were damaging to his candidacy.

The United States Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the complaints about irregularities in the election procedures could have accomplished what journalists were unwilling to do: provide a forum for both sides to be heard in a fair manner.  The highest court’s failure to do so, including on one petition from a majority of the states, ended the last, best chance to lower tensions and restore some semblance of national unity.

The Journalism, state election systems, and the Supreme Court must examine their consciouses and their actions in order to bring America back together.  

Illustration: Pixabay

Christians throughout the world celebrated Easter yesterday. For many, that observance had to be done in silence and secrecy.

There are no spectacles in the Roman Coliseum featuring martyrs torn apart by lions, but the observance of the faith founded two millennia ago is facing more persecution in the 21^st Century than in the age of the Caesars. Pope Francis, who heads the globe’s largest single Christian group, has stated that conditions are more dangerous now than they were in the earliest days of the religion.

Information disclosed in the latest World Watch List details the deadly plague of anti-Christian, and anti-religion in general, that infects Earth.

In places as distant as China, Iran, North Korea and parts of Africa, Christians risk their freedom, property and even their lives when they profess adherence to the teachings of Jesus.

Linda Bordoni reviewed the data released in the “World Watch List” for Vatican News. She found that 13 Christians are killed every day worldwide because of their faith. Christianity Today notes that every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.

The former Trump Administration noted that Christians were the most persecuted religion on the planet, where 83% of the world’s population lives in nations where an individual may be subjected to harassment simply because of the faith they subscribe to.

An Easter Sunday attack in 2019 in Sri Lanka resulted in 290 lives lost and up to 500 injuries.

Throughout China, churches and outward signs of religious institutions have been forcefully closed or eliminated. In Nigeria, according to Gatestone’s Raymond Ibrahim, Christianity is on the brink of extinction. “The ascendancy of Sharia ideology in Nigeria rings the death toll for the Nigerian Church… These nonstop Islamic attacks are causing the Christian population of the West African nation to plummet — to the point of extinction by 2043.”

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Just being a Christian is illegal in North Korea. Christians in Iran are frequently imprisoned, tortured, or otherwise threatened.

In many nations, adopting Christianity is seen as an act of undermining the government. Conversion to the faith places believers in particular jeopardy.

Followers of Christ are not alone in their plight. Repressive governments see the practice of any religion as a threat to their total rule. A Pew Forum study released in November reported that religious persecution exists in the majority of the world’s nations, indeed, in 90% of them. China, perhaps the largest offender, runs concentration camps for the exclusive purpose of eliminating the Uighur culture and religion. It appears that the planetary cry of “Never Again!” is an empty promise.

That Pew study found that “The Middle East-North Africa region had the largest share of countries where Christians were harassed in 2018. Of the 20 countries in the region, 19 had some form of harassment targeting Christians (either by governments or social groups). Social harassment occurred in 15 countries, the highest share (75%) since the beginning of the study, while government harassment of Christians [has been] reported in 19 countries in the region…”

COVID-19 made the problem even worse, according to a UCA News review. “In many countries, Christians are denied food and pandemic-related health care assistance and support systems…Some of them even lacked the money to buy face masks and hand sanitizers.” China has reportedly doubled-down on its persecution in the wake of the epidemic.

The dire conditions faced by Christians hasn’t made headline news, despite the extraordinary numbers.  

Illustration: Pixabay

U.S. State Department Releases 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Too many people continued to suffer under brutal conditions in 2020.  In China, government authorities committed genocide against Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and crimes against humanity including imprisonment, torture, enforced sterilization, and persecution against Uyghurs and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.  Assad’s atrocities against the people of Syria continued unabated, and this year marks ten years of their struggles to live in dignity and freedom.  The war in Yemen has driven millions to extreme humanitarian need, preventing them from exercising many of their basic rights.  The Russian government has targeted political dissidents and peaceful protestors, while official corruption remained rampant.  The corruption of Nicolas Maduro increased the dire humanitarian crisis of the Venezuelan people.

In Nicaragua, the corrupt Ortega regime passed increasingly repressive laws that limit severely the ability of opposition political groups, civil society, and independent media to operate.  Meanwhile in Cuba, government restrictions continued to suppress the freedoms of expression, association, religion or belief, and movement.  State-sanctioned violence in Zimbabwe against civil society activists, labor leaders, and opposition members continued a culture of impunity, and LGBTQI+ persons continued to be vulnerable to violence, discrimination, and harassment due to criminalization and stigma associated with same-sex sexual conduct.  In Turkmenistan, citizens criticizing the government faced possible arrest for treason, and the whereabouts of more than 100 political prisoners remain unknown.

Syria

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has announced more than $596 million in new humanitarian assistance to respond to the Syrian crisis. This funding brings the total U.S. government humanitarian assistance to nearly $13 billion since the start of the decade-long crisis, including nearly $141 million in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response in Syria and the region.  U.S. assistance will benefit many of the estimated 13.4 million Syrians inside Syria in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as 5.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.  We offer support to alleviate the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable people because it aligns with our values as a nation and with our national interests. We urge other donors to support the Syrian people by increasing their contributions to these efforts.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also stressed the responsibility of the international community to provide unhindered humanitarian access and aid to all Syrians in need through all avenues available, including through cross-border assistance, which remains necessary to reach those in need.  The re-authorization and expansion of the cross-border mandate in July is a U.S. priority.

The Syrian people have faced innumerable atrocities, including Assad regime and Russian airstrikes, forced disappearances, ISIS brutality, and chemical weapons attacks.  Furthermore, systemic corruption and economic mismanagement at the hands of the Assad regime have exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis, which has been further compounded by the challenge of COVID-19.

Along with our allies and partners, the United States supports UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen’s efforts to achieve a political settlement and permanent resolution to the Syrian conflict as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2254.  There is no military solution that will bring peace, security, and stability to Syria, and the region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for vastly increased domestic production of consumer goods its population will require in the coming years. The broad reorientation in Beijing’s policy appears to be in preparation for foreign economic sanctions it expects in response to the country’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. It is not a good sign for Western leaders aiming to bring China into alignment with the accepted norms of the international rules-based system. 

To ramp up domestic manufacturing China needs oil. Last week Beijing signed a massive deal with Iran when it agreed to invest $400 billion in the country over the next 25 years in exchange for a steady supply of discounted oil to fuel its economy. This is in direct conflict with US attempts to isolate the Iranian regime to bring it into compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. China is expanding its influence in multiple sectors in the Middle East, including banking, telecommunications, technology, and other infrastructure investments, according to the New York Times. “Although the contents of the deal haven’t been fully disclosed, it will certainly involve massive Chinese investment in Iran’s infrastructural, industrial, economic and petrochemical sectors,” according to a Real Clear Defense news article this week. The Center for New American Security is reporting that “Cooperation between Russia and China has deepened across nearly every dimension of their relationship, from diplomacy and defense to economics and technology. This growing cooperation threatens to challenge America’s national security interests and poses serious risks for liberal democracies.” The reality is that China is making inroads in the Middle East and beyond. The West Coast think tank, RAND, says that “US policy toward the Middle East has relied heavily on military instruments of power and has focused on regional threats—particularly the Iranian threat—with the goal of keeping partners on “our side.” These long-standing policies have largely fallen short of meeting core US interests and adapting to new regional realities and strategic imperatives.

China, one of the five signatories of the JCPOA agreement, sided with Iran recently when it publicly rebuffed President Biden’s overtures to gradually lift sanctions on the Iranian economy. Then China, in a bold move, demanded that Washington take the first step. At the signing ceremony in Iran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that “China firmly supports Iran in safeguarding its state sovereignty and national dignity,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Unlike earlier deals, an Iranian official said that last week’s signing included provisions for increased military cooperation, weapons development, and intelligence-sharing with the communist giant. The formal cementing of a China-Iran partnership does not bode well for stability in the region, but it appears on the horizon.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, called “China a friend for hard times,” at the signing ceremony last week and that “The history of cooperation between two ancient cultures of Iran and China dates back centuries. Signing the cooperation agreement will further strengthen the ties of the two nations.” China is emerging as a regional power broker of economic importance in the Middle East. Beijing recently extended an offer to help Iran resolve disputes with other countries in the region over its nuclear program, including a proposal to host direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.  

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Previously, China deferred working closely with Iran or signing major deals to preserve its relationship with oil-rich Saudi Arabia. “Deeper and wider cooperation between China and Iran, especially when considered in the context of their close ties with Russia and the trio’s adversarial relations with the US, carries a strong potential for changing the regional strategic landscape, according to Real Clear Defense. The perception by Israel, the US, and Gulf Arab states of an expanded Chinese threat, in addition to Iran’s spreading influence in the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq) and Yemen means that the world could be watching the largest anti-US alliance form within a short period of time. 

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Friday, she presents key updates on China.

Illustration: Pixabay

The China Task Force was created to establish a multi-agency examination of the threat posed by China. We conclude our summary of its Final Report.

National Security

• Working with the DoD to modernize force structure,  posture, operational concepts, and acquisitions in order  to deter CCP aggression in the Indo-Pacific and around  the world 

• Ensuring modernization of all three legs of the nuclear  triad as well as development and fielding of conventional  capabilities critical to counter the PLA in the Indo-Pacific,  including ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles 

• Underscoring the need for a minimum three to five  percent real growth in the defense budget per year  in order to deter and defeat the PLA and other key  adversaries 

• Increasing focus on how the U.S. military protects space  capabilities and carrying out space exploration goals by  leveraging private sector investments 

• Cutting off material support of CCP military industrial  base companies, including divestment from companies  with ties to the CCP’s military 

• Safeguarding the U.S. electoral process and the integrity  of our elections with various measures, including the  identification of foreign malign actors and ensuring any  individuals who engage in interference are inadmissible  for entry to the U.S. or deportable if already present 

• Providing more resources for investigations, criminal  prosecutions, and other actions against CCP sponsored  IP theft in addition to closing loopholes the CCP has  exploited in our visa system 

• Enhancing federal counterintelligence capabilities and  bolstering Mandarin language capacity

Technology

• Taking a whole-of-government approach to assess the  security risks posed by the PRC in 5G networks and  increasing cooperation between the U.S. and its allies  and partners in identifying and countering them 

• Supporting the formation of a new D-10 group of leading  democracies to develop and deploy 5G and subsequent  generations and establishing a reimbursement program  for companies to remove equipment from their  communications networks that poses a national security  risk • Securing international leadership in the technologies of  tomorrow, including AI, quantum, 5G, and autonomous  vehicles 

• Sanctioning PRC telecommunications companies  engaged in economic or industrial espionage and any  PRC entity that tries to hack COVID-19 researchers  working on a vaccine 

Economics and Energy

• Ensuring no U.S. taxpayer dollars support any PRC state owned enterprises 

• Harmonizing export control policies with our partners  and allies to keep critical technologies, including  

semiconductor manufacturing equipment and R&D, from  our adversaries 

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• Applying heightened scrutiny for investments in U.S.  companies or operations from the PRC 

• Strengthening trade relationships with our allies to  establish U.S. standards and counter the PRC’s influence 

• Pursuing trade policies that deter and protect against the  PRC’s theft of IP 

• Enforcing reciprocal treatment of PRC investment into  the U.S. to restore symmetry in bilateral investment rules 

• Ensuring PRC companies are held to the same financial  disclosure standards as American companies when  listing on U.S. stock exchanges 

• Working to deepen our trade ties with Taiwan and  resolving specific outstanding trade issues so the  

Administration can take steps to launch trade agreement  negotiations once those issues are add

ressed 

• Strengthening the Development Finance Corporation,  Export Import Bank, and other government efforts to  more robustly counter the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative  and debt trap diplomacy 

• Continuing to advance U.S. energy security in order to  be a global counter against the PRC, particulary on the  nuclear energy front

Competitiveness

• Doubling the funding of basic science and technology  research over the next 10 years  

• Increasing coordination and funding for STEM education  to create a more capable, skilled workforce 

• Strengthening the protection of sensitive research  at America’s colleges and universities and leading  

research institutions which includes restricting all federal  employees and contractors from participating in foreign  talent programs 

• Requiring colleges and universities to annually report all  donations from the PRC  

Photo: The USS Gabrielle Giffords conducts routine operations in the vicinity of the Chinese vessel Hai Yang Di Zhi 4 Hao, July 1, 2020. The Navy ship, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. (DoD photo)