Even on a short visit to America, it doesn’t take long to realise that while organisations like CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) proclaim to target all forms of extremism, in practice it was the Muslim communities which were regarded with suspicion. Had it not been so, the upstart presidential candidate, Donald Trump, now renowned for his braggadocio, would not have dared to rant that he would send all Muslims in the United States to leave the country.

The realisation that they are under some kind of a scrutiny has had a chilling effect on the vast Muslim communities of Pak American Muslims. In Houston, for example, there are groups of Muslims who have learnt to keep quiet about politics. They avoid voicing unpopular political views that could lead to them being held up as extremists. "This in effect, denies them access to the same freedoms of speech employed by other citizens and worsens a sense of discrimination and inequality. It seems then that CVE could just as easily spiral into one more instance of war on terrorism measures actually exacerbating the problems they claim to address," writes William Youmans, Professor of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

I am inclined to agree with the professor because, in my recent trip to the US, I found some Pak Americans (whom you wouldn’t consider to be illiterate) so estranged from the country they live in, that they firmly believe that 9/11 was staged by Mossad, and ISIS is a hoax phenomenon, a plot masterminded by Israel and America to malign and discredit Islam. They even believe that ISIS stands for Israeli State Intelligence Service.

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It would be presumptuous of me to comment on the American national pulse in 2016, but from whatever I could glean from watching television news coming out of different channels, the mood seems to be one of anger. It could be due to the vast gap between the fabulously rich and the lower income group people. "The share of stories about angry voters has increased by two hundred percent", says a report in the New York Times.

It also appears that the gap between the two major parties has widened considerably. A survey conducted recently asked people whether they agree that "we should make every effort to improve the position of minorities even if it means giving them preferential treatment". The result showed that the Democrats were much more supportive of efforts to improve than they were a few decades ago. Only twelve percent of the Republicans agreed as opposed to forty two percent of the Democrats.

Republicans have always been worried about their country being less white, but they hadn’t openly made statements like chucking out all Muslims and pushing the Mexicans behind a wall to be built at the expense of the Mexicans. Mr Trump’s popularity is largely due to the emotions he has aroused about race and religion. The attitude about race and ethnicity has now been activated in the lead-up to the presidential election in November.

The rift between the Democrats and the Republicans has widened to such an extent that according to one newspaper, senior members of both parties are now seriously concerned that their children might marry someone of the opposite party.

This is precisely what is going on within the Pakistani community. They have been segregating themselves by building their own derh eent kee masjid. The gap is not just between Shias and Sunnis; it is between Memons and Pathans, liberal Punjabis and non-liberal Punjabis, followers of one Mulla and followers of another. The only common event at which they might all get together is when a mega movie star from India makes an appearance in their city.

*****

The Internet has, of course, liberated the individual in America. It has given people more choice over what to buy and where to buy from, but income inequality challenges common cohesion as classes divide. Different ethnic groups rub against one another. Settled social bonds are ripped apart. The emphasis on individual choice challenges community cohesion. The weakening of the social fabric has created a range of problems.

Amongst the Muslim communities in America (now in England as well), alienated teenagers join ISIS so they can have a sense of belonging. Isolated teenagers shoot up schools. Racial animosity, which had never quite died out, has raised its head.

As the presidential primaries and caucuses in the US reach fever pitch, the candidate who has been grabbing headlines, Donald Trump, is not being spared by the sober press for his outlandish rhetoric. His views on nuclear issues are so ill-judged that I shudder to think what might happen if he wins the crown. We can only take solace in the probability that he is not likely to occupy the White House. The Independent thinks that "Trump’s chances of taking the White House, assuming that he wins the Republican nomination, remain almost non-existent. The unthinkable could happen in November. Over the campaign Trump could miraculously mend fences with all the domestic constituencies that he has alienated and the Democrats could implode. However, even if Trump wins -- and it’s a huge if -- he will not be the political reincarnation of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, the two Republican presidents most closely twinned with the idea of American isolationism".

The New York Times comments on how little clarity the presidential candidates including Trump, are bringing to the national debates on America’s foreign policy. "Not only Trump but other candidates need to be specific about the circumstance under which they would use -- or refuse to use -- military force. Saying that the US can’t be the world’s policeman is only the beginning of the discussion."

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Zany Humour, with a touch of the non-sequitur, appeals to me. America has a strong tradition of stand-up comics who have used it most effectively. Today, Key & Peele, the comedy duo, (full names: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) top the bill wherever they perform. Here is a sample of their conversation with an interviewer:

"Interviewer:           How close is your friendship?

KK:        We share the plates, and we also very often will sit in the corner and kind of speak in our own language. We jammer."

Int:                                 What’s a jammer?

KK:        It’s any noun. So in the context of what we’re talking about you should be able to figure out what a jammer is: a stoinker or a stoinkus. Most of the words we’re saying are any nouns.

Int:         So you will interchange any noun with stoinker, stoinkus or jammer

JP:         Or spoinkus

If the unthinkable happens in November, the rest of the world could take refuge in stoinker and stoinkus.