Here’s my latest essay for CounterPunch. Here’s the first paragraph to whet your appetite for more (or not). Note: 17 minute read.
During a recent trip to Boston, I saw this delusional expression screaming at me in large red, white, and blue letters from the side of a passing cement truck. For the uninitiated, it’s a US cultural reference that has been metamorphosed into a bellicose nationalistic war cry replete with t-shirts sold on Amazon. After throwing up in my mouth a little, I chuckled. Here we go again, I thought, “the greatest nation on earth,” voluminous and damning evidence to the contrary, admonitions of love it or leave it, chants of USA, USA, USA!
Shalom (שלום), MAA
An International Educator in Viet Nam 
You can also listen to this essay here if you have a spare 26 minutes. https://www.spreaker.com/user/12829388/they-hate-us-cause-they-ain-t-us
US is becoming a ‘developing country’ on global rankings that measure democracy, inequality https://theconversation.com/us-is-becoming-a-developing-country-on-global-rankings-that-measure-democracy-inequality-190486
From another reader about the US: “It’s a corporate oligarchy where the super rich own the political system and use it to exploit and divide the population while enriching themselves.
It’s the most dangerous nation in the world, a warfare state since 1941, and it dupes its citizens into supporting that by exploiting their patriotism.”
Reminds me of one of George Carlin’s sketches without the laughs.
Here’s my follow-up article: “We’re Here Because the US Was There” (17.11.22) https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/11/17/were-here-because-the-us-was-there/