Is America Still America?

With so many things changing at a breakneck speed, are we still the nation we hope we are?

Who are we as a country? Who are we as a people? Does it come down to just a race? Or perhaps a religion or culture? What is our country? Who are we as a people? The current events of the last few months as well as the last few decades have called this into question.

Are our ideals supposed to change as we move on as a nation? Do we stay the course of who we are? Obviously over the years, we have changed what we consider moral many times over the history of our nation. Times change and people change. What is the central spirit of who the American people are? Are we the rescuers of the world? Are we the sanctuary for the poor and hungry? Are we the cutting edge in the next new thing?

An idea that stirs fear in my soul is the idea of being second best in the world. The United States has enjoyed for a rather long time a sense of safety and superiority. We are in an age where things are changing. The winds of change are blowing in our direction, if we are not vigilant and careful, these winds will blow our nation towards a direction we do not wish to be.

There was a time when our nation was a symbol of prosperity and military prowess. It is seemingly more apparent that such ideals are more personal beliefs of ours nowadays rather than based in reality. One might say “it is easy to naysay and criticize, but give the new guy a chance”. I am all for giving people multiple chances with tried policies, this is not what is being referred to.

There is this dread amongst the youth where they don’t believe home ownership is within their grasp. There is a sense of anxiety amongst the older generations that they may not be able to prepare properly for retirement and there is also a sense of unease regarding our military readiness and the safety of the homeland.

Gone are the days of this nation’s ability to dominate markets, gone are the days that we are able to project dominance in this hemisphere or elsewhere when it comes to our imports, resources and production capability. It is truly tempting to place our blind faith in new gimmicks, technologies and strategies. Will this ever be enough? Do we need to change our definition of what it is to be an American? Do we let go of the hubris that has run through our veins for so long? It used to be that being an American citizen meant something different than other citizens of this planet. Just an extra bit of pride. Does that extra bit go away? Do we become just another western nation assumed to contain nothing but overprivileged and lazy first worlders?

There was a time that the British were feared across the world. It’s citizens had the fortune of traveling to many points on the globe and still being on English land, according to the English of course. There was a a saying regarding the British Empire that stated the sun never sets on it since it was so worldwide and massive. Great Britain saw some of the worst bombing campaigns of World War 2 brought to them by the Germans. Another thing that occurred in the previous World War 1 was that tensions between Germany and the United Kingdom had reached a boiling point due to the failing dominance of the British Empire and the power struggle arising from that failing dominance.

In simpler terms, Britain was great, a couple major wars occurred and Britain was no longer the dominant power on the planet after the citizens of Britain suffered through many years of bloody wars. Does this sound familiar? Is the United States heading towards a similar destiny? Is our supremacy waning and are the signs of this waning everywhere around us? Obviously if you are on top, you never want to believe you are not going to be there forever, because the top feels good.

It feels good to be America, it feels good to be American, it feels good to be on top. I don’t think our dominance is going to last much longer. Fight and fight as we may, it just won’t last. I feel we can make some major changes and stay on top, or at least we can feel better about who we are as Americans or collectively as America. But it will be one hell of a fight, and the way people are nowadays. Instead of fighting for things, most people just get complacent and start pretending and believing in comforting thoughts without any actual changes. We as a nation and a people and a culture must find our center and we must fight to protect who we are. It is not a race we protect, but an ideal, a way of life and a way of governance that deserved a chance and still does. Our identity is contagious, and our ideals are sound. We must take pride in these ideals, not stray too far from who we are and remember that we are a brave and tenacious bunch who will never be easily quelled. We must carry this force of America with us forward to the rest of the 21st century and beyond. We should never let the dream of America die, because the dream will always be worth living.

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