Dear Americans: I Want You To Know That You’re Awesome
This is an opinion piece, but I have facts on my side
Okay, yeah. I get it. Things seem pretty lousy these days. You’re definitely going through a rough patch at the moment. Politics? Messed-up. Race relations? Messed-up. Terrorism, popular anger, a lousy news media that promotes conflict … yeah it looks pretty bad. But as someone who’s not American I have a special message for you: hey — you’re still awesome. Let me explain.
- You still have vision
It’s quite amazing, and I bet you don’t even know it’s there: big, grand visions and dreams. Call it the American dream or call it optimism, but it’s a part of your character and it’s still alive and well. You think Silicon Valley could have happened anywhere else? Or Hollywood? Or Disneyworld? Or the freaking moon landings? You guys don’t know what it’s like to live in a country where people don’t dream big (or if they do, they move to the States). Stuff that goes big in the US often goes big around the world. Taylor Swift is huge in Japan. The Chinese are nuts about the NBA. Most of the world’s top brands are still American. Your dreams are huge and you actually make them a reality. Come on, admit it: that’s pretty amazing.
2. There’s more to your military than drones and airstrikes
Okay, here’s my personal opinion: the war in Iraq was a nightmare, and all the turd-slurpling moosehumpers who started it should be on trial in the Hague for crimes against humanity. Then you have the truly insane amounts of money wasted on gargantuan military programs that could be better spent on health or schools or whatever. BUT — when the crap hits the fan, who in the world is there to swoop to the rescue? Uncle Sugar, that’s who. Think of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami: the Navy launched a gargantuan humanitarian effort instantly. No one else could have done that even if they chose to (which they didn’t). Or the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, where US forces immediately went in to help despite the risk of radiation from Fukushima. The truth is, international disorder is like a nasty virus that’s eager to infect the planet, but the number one reason why the world is reasonably stable (and it is, despite what you see in the news) is the United States military. They’re not just serving America’s interests, they’re keeping the planet from slipping into the abyss. I myself am what a lot Americans would probably call a pinko liberal anti-war jerkface, but even I know that most of the human race would beg for you to return if y’all stopped patrolling the skies, seas and sands.
3. You should be proud of your race relations
Crazy, right? Well let me tell you something. My mother was black and I had relatives in the Civil Rights movement way back. But as bad as things are between white and black in America right now (and let’s admit it, things are pretty bad), there are some bright spots too. When you look around the world at oppressed minorities, you do get poverty, racism and violence, but you don’t get that amazing thing that America has, which is the ability to also celebrate black people. Movie stars, sports stars, politicians, scientists, you name it. Yes, things suck in so many ways, and we should never look away from the inequities and injustices, but the ability to also accept — and even identify with — black people is quite amazing. How many Roma movie stars are there in Europe? How many Chinese Muslims are adored by millions? How many Mideast Christians are begged for autographs? Sure, things are bad on countless levels, racism is still a severe problem, with the associated poverty, crime and suffering — but you should still be damn proud of the progress that’s been made.
4. As individuals, you guys are awesome
I love visiting the US. I find Americans to be friendly and curious with outsiders, and very welcoming. It doesn’t matter whether you’re right wing, left wing, urban, rural, northerner, southerner, whatever. In fact you guys seem to be nicer with foreigners than you are with one another. You speak your minds and you generally stand up and say something when you see something you think is wrong. What, did you think everyone was like that? Guess what, they’re not. People in many countries prefer not to rock the boat. Yeah, it’s true that it’s gotten you into a bit of a tough situation lately, with everyone being outraged by everyone else, but I love that so many of you find it hard to keep silent when something happens that conflicts with your values. And you’re fun to hang around with!
5. Your culture is still strong
Sure, reality TV is pretty lousy, a lot of pop music is about as pleasure-inducing as a scroll saw hitting a nail, the Internet is full of insults and rape threats, not to mention information that just can’t be trusted — but you still have an incredible legacy of literature, film, music, art, architecture, dance, you name it, that continues to this day. Broadway continues to thrive. Publishing continues to thrive. You guys have the ability to dig deep, look within and be honest with yourselves, sometimes brutally honest. Big themes are still being tackled. Creative people are still searching for meaning. Don’t be blinded by the noisy big-budget stuff, there’s still great work being undertaken, and the whole world is the better for it.
6. Has your time as a superpower really been that bad?
America’s power since the Second World War has been huge and global, and still shows no sign of fading away. And it can’t be disputed that some awful things have been done with that power. A lot of people have been killed. A lot. But a wise man once said that the way you wield power reflects who you are as a person. In America’s case, that’s very true. All your inner virtues and shortcomings have been trumpeted loud and proud for all the world to see. Truth is, everyone has an opinion on your politics and culture because you’re just so important in the world. So much suffering has occurred, for example, because you’re so darned well-intentioned, and you’re foolish enough to think you can go anywhere you want and just fix things. But if you look at powerful nations and kingdoms through history, and even most nations on the planet today, it’s hard to imagine anyone, anywhere, would have done a better job with that much power. It’s not the American people who have been the problem on that front, it’s the power you’ve had. It’s easy for other countries to sit back and judge when they don’t have that much responsibility. Honestly, I believe that while history won’t give you a record that’s anything approaching spotless, it will give you a lot more credit than you get right now.
7. I think you’re more united than it seems
Yeah, I know. Left and right, white and black, male and female, christian and whatever, but behind the noisy divisions lie many powerfully unifying ideas and beliefs. Truth be told I’m not worried about some idiotic presidential candidate turning the country into a fascist dictatorship. If anything, I want some moron to try it, because it would unify America like never before — as in unify them against any fool who’s stupid enough to give it a shot.
You’ll get through this
America has overcome adversity many times before and come out stronger than before. I’m not just talking about the obvious things like wars and slavery, I’m talking about economic calamity, giant scandals, even maintaining hair-trigger nuclear readiness for several decades without blowing up the whole planet. Yeah, yeah, horrible wars, staggering deaths, grave inequalities, severe economic problems, crazy rhetoric — there’s tons of awful stuff to get you down. But all of that put together doesn’t paint the whole picture of who you are as a people. I sincerely believe you guys will figure it out and end up better off than you’ve ever been before. In fact I think 90% of it is mostly just not freaking out when people say something you disagree with.
So hang in there, America! You’re still awesome in my book, and I know I’m not alone.
