110th Edition
We don’t have to settle
I’ve read a few articles recently suggesting that President Trump is ruining America’s reputation in the world. That’s an interesting supposition, so I’d thought I would weigh in on that issue in this week’s blog.
What is America’s reputation today from a global perspective? Surely it differs across the world, depending on several variables. What does the rest of the world expect from us? What do they admire about us? In what areas do they loathe us? As expected, when it comes to complicated issues, I have more questions than answers.
I’ve not traveled extensively enough to offer definitive conclusions about how people in other countries view us. But from my limited experience, I think a few generalizations are reasonably accurate. First, they love our buying power, our insatiable consumerism. Americans represent just 4% of the world’s population, but we account for approximately 25% of global consumer spending.
Militarily, we are both an essential ally to many countries, and a major threat to other countries. Since the end of WWII, when we emerged as the lone global superpower, we have been on the front lines of maintaining peace in the world for nearly eight decades. We have spent trillions protecting our global interests, and those of the free world. Of course, over a period that long, and that costly, in terms of human lives as well as resources, blunders have been made, while battles have been won and lost, both militarily and geopolitically.
At the same time, America and its citizens support multiple organizations that lead the world in terms of disaster recovery efforts. Beyond that we dwarf the rest of the world in terms of charitable contributions.
Due to our unrivaled wealth, substantial natural resources, global military capabilities, virtually unlimited economic and financial opportunities, world-leading universities, and state-of-the-art technologies, America remains the leader of the free world.
But there is one more essential ingredient which has kept us at the forefront of world leadership for over eighty years. That is the freedom to disagree, complain, protest, vote, campaign, and speak our minds freely. In a nutshell, we don’t have to settle. We don’t have to accept anything we don’t like related to our economy, government, or personal situation. Progress in either of these areas isn’t guaranteed, nor is it inevitable, and it certainly isn’t always equitable. We all know that the gap between the rich and poor continues to expand. Moreover, we can actually get worse in these areas, and some might argue that we have experienced this recently. But again, we don’t have to settle.
The United States is a relatively young country. We are very much still a work in process. This amazing experiment to determine whether the idea of self-government can long survive, continues to unfold. And similar to progress, the sustainability of our republic isn’t guaranteed, nor is it inevitable.
Herein lies the second aspect of our country that, I suspect, the rest of the world, in general, admires. That is, our hopefulness and our refusal to settle. America has a lot of critics around the world, justifiable in many cases. But the most passionate critics are American citizens, and that is not such a bad thing. Sure, it can be disruptive, even discouraging, but it also leads to progress, albeit slowly and certainly unevenly.
Winston Churchill is famous for the statement – “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” It’s not the most flattering statement but there are two very important points in it. First, we eventually get things right. Second, we keep trying until we do. Again, we don’t have to settle.
Where does that leave us today? We have a very unique President, who is trying to do things perhaps he shouldn’t. There is the potential for great things to be accomplished, and unfortunately, missteps could lead to economic disaster, or worse. Meanwhile we are likely stuck in an environment of economic uncertainty, market volatility, and political polarization. It’s all disconcerting. But, you guessed it… We don’t have to settle.
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.