RECENT violent attacks in Paris, France and California, USA, which resulted in loss of lives and injuries have heightened conversations about gun violence, gun control, terrorism and responding to terrorism. These conversations, more particularly in the USA, which is scheduled to hold presidential elections in November 2016, are giving insights into the thinking of presidential candidates, one of whom will be president and would impact global relations. Some political pundits continue to scratch their heads as several polls show the real estate billionaire mogul turned politician Mr Donald Trump’s rise and steadiness as the leading candidate in a crowded Republican field. Among the Republican establishment Trump’s rise was initially seen as fleeting, but he is now beleaguering other contenders, giving rise to concern about him possibly being the party’s nominee and fear that his nomination will lead to a Democrat returning to the White House.
Even amidst establishment and political pundits’ concerns,the polls suggest Trump’s rise is fuelled by a sharp strain of xenophobia and fear that America may be losing its greatness. His campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again.” The crises in the Middle East such as ISIS and Syria and the U.S. response to these, global terrorism and the recent attack in San Bernardino, and his proposals for addressing them aid his appeal. While terrorism is not unique to any group (country, race, religion, etc) the fact that, coming from September 11, 2001 when the U.S. was attacked by Osama Bin Laden, it has given rise to xenophobia and what some deem as a natural fear of the unknown.
The war in Iraq, though later shown to have had nothing to do with the discredited position of the Saddam Hussein government being in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction, has not quelled the fear. This fear remains and with other incidents of attack, it has become more pronounced, in spite of it being pointed out by analysts that the U.S. is not without its own home-grown terrorists, such as the Timothy McVeigh,who had planned and executed the Oklahoma bombing, and Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University shootings.
Though thankfully the world has not seen another attack on the scale of 9/11, the Paris attacks on November 13 has heightened the fear that terrorism is real and can happen anywhere. And amidst concern, driven in the instance of the Paris incident, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill with strong bipartisan support that would see stricter restrictions being imposed on its Visa Waiver Programme that currently welcomes about 20 million people each year.
Along with this movement by Congress, there is also concern about access to guns and the need for stricter gun-control measures. This issue continues to generate heated and concerted debates about legislative action for gun reform in some quarters and in others, a push back that guns are not the problem and it is a constitutional right to bear arms. The social moralists feel that legislation will not solve gun violence, since the problem is a reflection of a change of values, including the family structures. The presidential candidates are also weighing in, putting forward their proposals, supporting or attacking the stance of their competitors.
The continuum has seen expression of varying approaches to handling terrorism, gun control and ethnic relations, with some considered nuanced or more extreme than the others in pronouncements and proposals. And here is where there has been a wide-cross section of attention about Trump’s pronouncements on terrorism, guns/gun control, non-support for Syria refugees entering the U.S., a database of all Muslims and a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S., which receive cheers at his rallies.
Present in the U.S. environment is a melting pot of every culture, religion, family structure, nationality, values and ethnicity around the world. That society prides itself on its immigrant culture, which contributes to its growth, development and place in the world. This and the merging of gun violence, terrorism, ethnicity and xenophobia are dilemmas being confronted, requiring careful handling to preserve the pride of place on what is deemed the Core American Values.
There is a school of thought that xenophobia is helping Islamic extremists and ISIS to feed jihadist violence. Nicolas Henin, a French journalist, who was held captive by the Islamic State, writing in the British Guardian noted that “Central to their [ISIS] world view is the belief that communities cannot live together with Muslims, and every day their antennae will be turned towards finding supporting evidence.” Though it is less than eight weeks before the first presidential primary-season vote is cast in Iowa, a day can be a lifetime in politics and a statement can build or reverse the fortune of a politician. Unmistakably, the presidential primaries and elections will be one watched and picked apart by the world.