Editor's note: Maitreya Bhakal is an Indian commentator who writes about China, India, U.S. and global issues. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Imagine the following events occurring simultaneously in a single country: a deadly, infectious disease spreading across the land; people dying by the thousands each day; a deadly coup attempt by supporters of the strongman populist leader who refuses to accept the results of a legitimate election he lost, and who has been impeached twice by the elected legislature; armed forces occupying the capital for fear of another violent coup attempt; armed civilian militias roaming the streets; an intoxicated drug-ridden population with open, legal access to guns in shops and supermarkets; police frequently killing hundreds of civilians each year…one would be forgiven for assuming that these are scenes either from an apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster or a banana republic after a U.S.-led invasion or civil war. Yet, they are from a country that generally creates such scenes in other countries: The United States, Land of the Free, the exceptional nation.

Still, such events are a largely accurate portrayal of American values: a disdain for peace, an inhuman disregard for human life, a vicious renunciation of morality, and a barbaric lack of solidarity for the common people by the ruling class – values perfectly exemplified by America's COVID-19 response. This is simply the natural culmination of the superpower's trajectory for the last half century. After all, the U.S. is the most violent and aggressive nation since Nazi Germany, having invaded and bombed multiple nations and killed millions of innocent people in wars and bombings since WWII. It was only inevitable that America's violent behavior abroad would be increasingly directed inward.

If nations were people, it is beyond doubt that the U.S. today would be diagnosed as a psychotic, murderous, homicidal individual in need of immediate psychiatric treatment and solitary confinement – in extreme danger of harming oneself as well as others.

Yet, Americans care little about America's murderous record abroad – partly because they've been sanitized and conditioned not to care, and partly because they're not its direct victims. After all, it's not the U.S. citizen that the U.S. army bombs regularly.

But what about the regime's record at home? What about the things Americans themselves experience in their daily lives? The U.S. is supposed to be the world's sole superpower, the largest national economy, the epitome of industrialization and modernization – and, by extension, wellbeing.

Yet, for many Americans, life is a slog. Real wages have remained largely stagnant for 40 years. U.S. student loan debt is higher than the GDPs of Australia, New Zealand and Qatar combined. Americans start their working lives already knee-deep in debt, and then spend the most of what remains lumbering to pay it off.

The largest economy in the world has the second-highest poverty rate among rich economies. The top 1 percent of Americans have more than 30 percent of all household wealth, while the bottom 50 percent of the population holds less than 2 percent. It spends more on health per capita than all rich countries but has amongst the worst health outcomes – with the devastation of COVID-19 being just the latest example. But of course, there's never any shortage of money for the "defense" budget.

Despite spending 42 percent higher per capita on healthcare than the next country (Switzerland), it remains the only rich nation to lack full health coverage for its population. The U.S. is also one of the few countries where maternal mortality is increasing rather than decreasing, and one of only two countries in the world (with Lesotho) without paid maternity leave.

Americans are also killing each other at unprecedented rates: Since 1990, the U.S. has a higher homicide rate than 34 out of 40 OECD nations. Shockingly, it seems that the pandemic has increased the bloodshed: 2020 saw an unprecedented murder spike in major U.S. cities, even though many people were locked down at home (or perhaps because they were locked down at home). The police do their depraved part too, killing about 1000 civilians each year. 

On top of all this, add the deadliest, most dangerous pandemic to hit humankind in 100 years, with 400,000 Americans already dead and one in 17 infected so far. Further add to the explosive mix an attempted violent coup, a head of state who's been impeached twice and who until recently simply refused to give up power, countless citizens who don't believe the election results and consider the incoming administration as illegitimate, an armed right wing that seems increasingly emboldened, and a degenerate government oblivious to the people's needs. 

Perhaps it's time for America to invoke its Responsibility to Protect and invade itself.

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