As a United States citizen growing up in India, I felt like I was single-handedly
shouldering the flack the country was taking for decisions of the Bush administration.
Naïve, I know, but in grade 6, staunch Democrat though I was, I felt the need to defend
America and American values to every Indian kid that thought America was comprised
of ignorant Mid-Westerners and pompous New Yorkers who has scarce little in common.
Part of me agreed with them, America is a country of myriad beliefs and perspectives.
With a multiplicity of parties, ideologies, religions, organizations and principles, different
groups are constantly in conflict with each other, whether the debate is about sexuality,
reproductive rights or the right to affordable healthcare. But though the ever-present
conflict and strong disagreement may make it seem like America is scattered and divided,
I believe that we are united by that very dissent; what unifies us is our commitment to the
freedom of expressing those views, the respect that we feel we owe each others’
perspectives and the creativity with which we throw ourselves into in generating new
ideas. With their grand condemnations of the country, people fail to realize that America,
unlike any other country in the world was founded upon core ethical values and today,
remains united by them. Whether they are ingrained in our Constitution or the
Declaration of Independence or simply in every small and large community in this
country, these values create a unified American identity that is unlike any other in the
world today. America doesn’t do things the way the rest of the world does, and the
resulting external pressure has created a fortified internal cohesion.
We’ve been reading about “the Decline of the United States” for about 10 years now,
trying to anticipate when these political prophecies of the unstoppable rise of China and
South America will come true; but the truth is that America has retained its clout, and the
reason for it, is that unlike any other economic giant or steel titan of a country, America’s
unity and greatness comes from a strong foundation of American values.
