Warning: if you are an unapologetic nationalist, or a jingoistic “patriot” you may not like this piece.  I suggest you not read it.  Thanks for your understanding.
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Soon it will be 50 years since I left India and landed at the JFK in NYC on August 25, 1972.  The US society has changed a lot since I arrived, some for the better and a lot for the worse. I have lived in the Los Angeles area continuously since 1984.

I chose to become a US Citizen, a flag I wear proudly.
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4^th of July a day of celebration,
picnics, barbeques, fireworks, games
beach volleyball, sunning, and surfing
together, different races & surnames

Celebration of our independence
from the distant British empire
“All men are created equal” and
other such higher ideals, we aspire

I believed in the idealistic rhetoric
that America is on a journey
to build a more perfect union
a mixing pot, a savory chutney

Last 18 months have exposed
a dark and troubling under belly
of American society – a society
that is at war with itself literally

We are marching backwards in time
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
all are under attack, thanks to SCOTUS
A travesty to which I am a witness

Electing a narcissistic, irrational, deceitful,
demagogue as the President, a first
Flaunted laws, orders, norms, conventions
Misogynistic, racist – humanity at its worst

Imagine? – a sitting president leading his army
of self-righteous and mis-guided drones
to an insurrection against his own country!
Buttressed with religious & racist undertones

What happened on January 6^th, 2021
is a permanent blot on American democracy
For Republicans to “pooh pooh” the incident
is impious and sheathed in moral bankruptcy

Trump fueled frenzy and violence of the mob
Egging his acolytes to kill the Vice President
Search all you desire the history of America
Leave no doubt, there is no such precedent

I am torn, conflicted, and confused
Shine of the city on a shining hill
Is getting tarnished, bit by bit
Over time our country has lost its will

Second amendment has been weaponized
by right-wing ideologues on the Court
No society can function when its citizenry
toys with democracy as if it is just a sport

No concern for responsibility, just the rights
No attempt or desire to balance the two
I am right, you are wrong is the mantra
Compromise? Hah! No one can make me do

No civilized society should stand frozen
Watching massacre of its innocent children
in schools – a place of learning and growth
Not a place for fear and target of gun

Racial hatred has become legitimatized
Trump and his team of goons have given
permission to attack wantonly any one
not White, a call that is racism driven

Until recently, I didn’t know about many
specific incidents* from America’s sordid past
I have known the original sins of this country
Racism, genocide, just thinking leaves me aghast
(* Tulsa massacre, American Indian Children abuse
Juneteenth, Bruce’s Beach, LA Chinese massacre)

Red States reverting to the Jim Crowe days
Enacting blatantly racist election laws
Main goal being to reduce minority voting
These anti-democratic laws are nothing but fatwas

It is true “we can’t handle the truth”
The revolt against Critical Race Theory
simply proves that we are not willing to
own up to our true, not “whitewashed”, history

Supreme Court is on a mission to rewrite the
rules, dial back the clock to pre 1964 days
Civil rights, hard-earned, are under siege
One by one they are going up in blaze

In a nutshell what I am witnessing:
– March towards fascism
– Choke hold of Trumpism
– Rise of nativism
– Rage of nationalism
– Terror of racism
– Pull of tribalism
– Growth of factionalism
– Creeping grip of Christian theism
– Iron hold of crony capitalism
– Slow death of liberalism

America as I have known it for most of my stay in the US, is slowing dying.
Let’s hope and pray that the trends get reversed and, once again, the “shining city on the hill” is shining brighter than ever.

But for now, let’s celebrate our Independence Day.
God Bless America.