MAGA!
Was there a time when America was greater than it is now?
Really?
I think there are huge numbers of Americans that would take exception with that idea.
Hasn’t America just been getting progressively greater from its founding and won't it just continue to get greater until the end of time?
Isn’t that the plan?
Or…
Is there a faux America?
or more precisely, many faux Americas
France’s America
England’s America
Australia’s America
and so on… and so on…
Because America does not exist in a vacuum how it is perceived should be of some concern.
You see, how great America is, depends a lot on from what perspective you view it.
The Trump Error is making America take a good long look at itself but we should also consider carefully how we have changed in the eyes of the rest of the world.
When I first started to travel outside the states I was struck by the level of esteem we had attained, sometimes it was almost embarrassing, other times it left me scratching my head and wondering if they were, in fact, thinking of us…
Were they thinking of the same America I know and love?
I have always been puzzled by the fact that so many countries have chosen to follow the US down this centuries darkest, questionable and most forbidding rabbit holes… It may seem unbelievable now but our “rep” was once so good that it inspired whole countries to act in ways that were clearly not in their best interest.
The things I have heard about what they think we are has been absolutely dumbfounding!
I am not trying to pigeonhole America as all good or all bad part of the beauty of America is its many facets and it’s grey areas but accepting that you’d still have to reference our history when considering following the US into a fight.
When I first landed in Australia I was met with an odd combination of awe, admiration & an almost unrecognizable vision of the American mythology.
We as Americans have seen so long being unconcerned with what the world thinks of us that we are now quite surprised when the tide turns and we are no longer in favor, no longer the goto guys for peace and democracy to some this is quite a shock not to everyone but to some.
It doesn’t matter much though because President 45 has forever changed how America & Americans are seen by the rest of the world.
He has made the world an unsafe place and America is no longer a beacon for the tired, poor, huddled masses but before we pack up the statue of lady liberty and actually become the evil empire some thought we always were, let us consider what our image has done to the world and to ourselves.
One of the founding ideas behind America is that in the interests of the common good we will at times as is necessary, make adjustments to the way the system works amendments to the constitution that reflect the changing societal norms and attitudes of the American people …Now, who wouldn’t be all for that?
As we are finding out, not everyone thinks it a great idea. no matter if you like it or not it is the path that this nation has set out on.
So… the “great” America has never actually existed, will never exist but if we're lucky we may grow up and be a “good” America!
