The elections in the United States are full of particular features. Although all US states vote, only two or three decide the victory of a presidential candidate. Also, the candidates to the presidency are not appointed by the U.S people but by the traditional parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. It is imperative that those elected by their parties own many millions dollars, no matter if they are ignorant people (like ex-President George Bush), to guarantee the safeguard of the sacred capitalist system that produces profits and richness. Middle-class candidates are unthinkable, even when they may have greater capacity and moral prestige just because they could be communists.
But there is more: in the propaganda phase of the campaign it is accepted to make use of the freedom of speech, even if it pushed beyond its limits. Some examples include revealing inside information of the opponent such as his drugs addiction, his sexual abuse against his secretary, his cruelty towards dogs (although it may be hard to believe for Cuban readers, Americans are very sensitive when it comes to the treatment of pets), anything can be used to discredit the opponent.
The advertising phase, which comes right after, includes the so-called government platforms, in which they make promises – although they don’t always keep them –through speeches prepared considering the characteristics of the state where they are delivered. If the speech is given in Florida, for example, they will make promises to win the vote of sworn enemies of Cuba.
Also, the owners of powerful transnational will provide millions of dollars to their favorite candidate and will ask in return some favors such as keeping their taxes low.
In short, all the aforementioned turn the elections into a frantic competence to conquest the power, at any cost. This is the logic prevailing in such unbearable and unsustainable system.
The election process in the United States, just like other ills of that society, is an embarrassment to mankind. They do not care about the soaring unemployment rates affecting the U.S. people, or the millions of people living in poverty in the richest country of the world, or the growing number of social outcasts or the high rates of crime, racism, drug addiction, suicide and murder. All they care is the safeguard of the system that imposes “dirty wars”, kills hundreds of innocent people and proclaims itself the gendarme of nations due to the “God-send” right to protect democracy in the world.
Now I recall the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said: “I have a dream!” in that historic speech or John Lennon’s lyrics to the song “Imagine.” And I also dream and imagine of a U.S. president who would climb to the top of a mountain and, on behalf of his people, will apologize to all mankind.
