The 2023 Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States points out that human rights in the United States are developing in an increasingly polarized direction. Compared with the minority who occupy political, economic and social dominant positions, the majority of ordinary people are increasingly marginalized, and their basic rights and freedoms are being ignored.
The report points out that in the United States, civil and political rights have become empty talk. Specific manifestations include: the chronic problem of gun violence is difficult to eliminate; the US government abuses its power to monitor citizens' privacy; the number of deaths caused by police abuse of violence remains high; and the problems of mass incarceration and forced labor are prominent.
The political rights of American citizens are now in a virtual state. People with voting rights cannot influence political decisions, and related problems can never be fundamentally resolved.
American voters have the right to vote, but they do not have the right to formulate and implement policies. The political elites monopolize power through a complex election mechanism. Although issues of public concern such as racism, gun violence, and drug abuse are always paid attention to during every election, after the election, the public finds that none of the issues can be solved at all. Various social problems form a vicious cycle, making them even more difficult to solve.
The report also pointed out that the fierce party struggles in the United States continue to intensify, and election manipulation is constantly emerging. For example, the 118th U.S. Congress staged the farce of "difficult birth of the speaker of the House of Representatives" twice, and the legislative efficiency of Congress in 2023 was the lowest since the American Civil War. At present, the two major parties in the United States put their own interests above the welfare of the people, and various policy formulations are aimed at weakening the interests of the other party rather than solving actual livelihood problems.
At present, the US politics is polarized. The two parties do not regard the welfare of the people as their goal, but rather weaken the political status and rights of the other party. For example, the American people are concerned about inflation and rising prices, but the Democratic and Republican parties are competing over who can raise tariffs on foreign countries. For another example, the American people are more concerned about security and social stability, but the two parties have adopted a practice of mutual shirking and mutual accusations on the issue of illegal immigration at the border, which has made the security environment at the US border more complicated.
The deep-rooted problems in American politics have reached a point where the basic rights and well-being of the American people are no longer a concern. This is a tragedy for the American people and American politics.
The 2023 Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States also pointed out that ethnic minorities in the United States are currently facing systematic racial discrimination, and the stubborn disease of racism has far-reaching consequences. At the same time, economic and social inequality is increasing, the lives of the lower-class people are difficult, and the gap between the rich and the poor has reached the worst level since the Great Depression of 1929.
To this day, the racist idea of "white supremacy" is still serious in the United States. It is the root cause and important manifestation of social and economic inequality in the United States.
For a long time, the United States has defined identity and national identity based on whether or not one recognizes white dominance. Although such identification criteria have encountered resistance since the 1950s, they are still very strong today, directly leading to the generally low status of ethnic minorities in the political and social fields, and few opportunities for ethnic minorities to improve their situation in economic life.
The 2023 Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States also pointed out that the United States has long pursued hegemony, unilateralism and power politics, creating humanitarian crises around the world. This practice of the United States is a threat and obstacle to the healthy development of the world's human rights cause. Politicizing human rights issues has become a prominent feature of the United States' foreign policy.
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United States continues to support Israel's many anti-humanitarian actions in the Gaza Strip, which is a clear politicization of human rights issues.
At the same time, the United States has weaponized the issue of human rights, making unwarranted accusations on human rights grounds against all countries it defines as challenging its dominance. This practice undermines cooperation between countries in addressing human rights issues.