The partnerships we form in life contain value in regard to our ability to find meaning and purpose in our day-to-day lives. Friendships call for loyalty, openness, and shared values. They can also form out of shared experiences. Good friendships require vulnerability to create the conditions where the deepest connections are made, but this can act as a two-way street. We can also be harmed by our connections.
A wise person said relationships are the most important part of our human experience. Each of our relationships speak to a piece of our being. It is nice to have friends who like a variety of things from lectures on federalism to sporting events (or both). Most importantly, the values are shared.
This is also true for the United States.
We are a microcosm of the entire world. Over the course of our national history, this beautiful country has attracted human beings from all over the globe. The process was expedited during the Cold War, a period of time that featuring two super nations aiming to control the global economy and global policy through ideological supremacy.
In the best light, America is a modern democracy that continues to improve itself through the annals of time in hopes of becoming a more perfect union. Our country fought a brutal war over the dehumanizing institution of slavery, and after, generations of Americans (coming from all racial and ethnic backgrounds) carried that flame into the following years as people still suffered under de jure and de facto systems of marginalization. The U.S. has also afforded a standard of living unseen in other epochs of human history. This is due to historical coincidence, the exploitation and marginalization of Indigenous Americans, labor manipulation, and a pretension to wage and monetize war. Still, our economic prowess is also built from innovation and ingenuity that influenced new ways of living and communicating with one’s natural environment. The melting pot of America continues to fuse cultures, traditions, cuisines, and ideas that intrigue and update the world. Thanks to migration and transportation, melting pots have been forming all over the globe. Thus, a melting pot that is well-positioned to influence global affairs must take that privilege seriously and in reverence to the past.
Through the declaration that “All men are created equal” and through innovation and the free expression of ideas, the American experience does reflect the positive outcomes of humanity’s modern steps forward.
This perspective does not overlook the imbalance that laissez faire capitalism invites and how that is a threat to humanity’s sustainability. It also doesn’t overlook the anxiety that has been caused by the proliferation of hate speech and speech meant to distract and disinform. The U.S. is a nuanced nation and a complex society.
Like much of the aware nation after yesterday’s John Durham hearing, I’ve considered the way Donald Trump’s campaign welcomed Russia’s help in the 2016 election and the ensuing GOP efforts to gaslight reality. I also think about Trump’s ties to Saudi Arabia and a branding deal in Oman. If Trump were to be president again, it would further undermine the work that the Biden team has done in an attempt to rebuild our allies’ trust and it would, once again, make it difficult for the United States to stand clear on human rights offenses.
Donald Trump’s allies are a symbol of his administration’s excessive corruption.
The Trump years were a dark reminder that America’s politics reverberate around the globe due to our massive sphere of influence. We can and do set the tone. In the past we have excessively supported dictators as a result of putting commercial interests above democratic ones. However, the world becomes increasingly interconnected as time goes by and we are better aware of the changes in other nations. As a result of interconnectedness, we have created outlets of democratic expression that aim to influence illiberal and antidemocratic outlets, structures, and impulses.
Using our partnerships to stop one nation from invading its smaller neighbor is a positive development. Taking seriously the needs of a nation that just survived an invasion and also has internal difficulties is also required. Reforming our economic policy regarding our neighbors to the south could be another positive development. Reconsidering how the Global South remains underserved and exploited would be an incredibly positive development.
Like our individual lives, our relationships start with our relationship with ourselves. We have to be kind to our home once more by taking our civic commitments seriously.
