Are we in decline?

Don’t read this further looking for data to support my thesis. I readily admit that this post is anecdotal in nature and am sure that some MAGA types will argue it. Nonetheless….

As I watch and travel and listen and read, I see only evidence that the USA is in decline. Decline from what? The “greatest nation” or the nation of freedom or the leader of the free world? As hard as that is to define, there is little doubt (in my mind) that the United States of America has been known as a place that is “free,” that encourages innovation and is where many others seek to resettle.

Those views may or may not hold water, of course – our “freedom” came with a dose of genocide of our own. Oh what – you don’t think that we tried to eliminate the native Americans we found here? come on, get real. You don’t think that our ‘freedom’ hardly applied to those with dark skin for many years, or for the Japanese we interred in camps? Where do you think Hitler learned about racism and eugenics? He learned it from the USA. Nonetheless, there is little doubt that people who wanted to emigrate, likely chose the USA. We particularly enjoyed an influx of brains – people who came to our vaunted universities to study and then make a living. Our immigrants include such luminaries as Alberti Einstein, Sergey Brin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Isaac Asimov and yes even Elon Musk. People want to come to USA. They came for freedom from oppression, for the promises of success, for the chance to raise a family.

USA also held a special place as a role model, earned or not. We spent money to help the oppressed and to support democracy (a worthy cause?). Other countries’ citizens looked up to us. Some wanted to be like us (some did not, of course). We were seen as a liberal democracy. The word ‘liberal’ is not a dirty word. A liberal democracy is “a system of representative government that balances majority rule with the protection of individual rights and freedoms. In this framework, state power is strictly limited by a constitution to prevent the “tyranny of the majority” and to safeguard the civil liberties of all citizens.” (look it up).

So where are we now?

I travel and read and listen and the best summary of what I hear is “we used to look up to you.” You can get a good taste of it from Mark Carney, Canada’s remarkable leader. A realist, he understands that he can no longer count on USA the way that he and the rest of the world has been used to – as a reliable partner. We are no longer a reliable partner, we cannot be counted on to help when needed (just ask the folks in Ukraine, or Gaza). We elected leaders who are selfish and think the world is a win-lose proposition defined by who gets the deal. Our government runs on bribes – what, you don’t think those monies contributed from billionaires are bribes? Come on, grow up.

By the way, as awful and corrupt as Donald Trump and his family are, the problem started well before him. Our politicians (both Democrats and Republicans) have needed those huge donations from the wealthy and are then indebted to them. Our decline didn’t begin two years ago or 8 years ago.

We are no longer the team that demonstrates empathy, that helps, and that uses our own success to build a better world. That better world is not just our own, but the bigger world, and the future world for our kids. Our heritage has been to support our citizens – all of them, not just the wealthy ones.

My kids accuse my generation of messing things up, from climate change to politics. I am quite sure they are right.

Can we pull out of this downward spiral? I don’t really think so, at least not completely – I don’t see how we can fully recover our position of leadership and trust. Who would trust us going forward – we elected a complete asshole as our leader…twice. I do however think that we can achieve a position of respect and an acknowledgement that we have owned up to our mistakes. I think we can become a force for good again, and earn back some measure of trust, from our citizens and those around the world. It will take time, probably a lot of it, but we have no choice. We need to recover at least some of the ‘goodness’ we were known for, whether legitimate or not.

I hope so. I like it here. The bullshit “if you don’t like it, just leave” is just that. This is my country, but its place in the world is relevant, especially as the world keeps getting smaller.