American Decline

Many have said that the United States is in something of its twilight, and the term "American decline" has often been used to describe this. When people talk about the American decline, they can be referring to a number of things, but they're most often talking about the diminishing influence the United States has on the rest of the world. At one point, and arguably this is still the case, the United States was/is the most powerful nation and culture on the planet, but some have questioned whether that's still the case. Many point to the lessening American economy and the general opinion of the United States on the world stage which has taken various hits in recent years. However they also might mention the decline of values in the United States, but that begs the question of what "values" they're referring to. Ultimately when talking about the American decline, who is talking about it says a lot more than the vague concept itself. My personal opinion of the concept is that the United States probably won't become any less prominent anytime soon, but the amount of respect it carries could possibly bottom out if something doesn't change. That might actually lead to a full scale decline, but it's too soon to tell. I would say that the United States isn't necessarily in it's twilight, but it could be. Right now we're at a turning point of sorts that could result in a decline if we don't collectively make the right decisions. Some have a very nihilistic view of the world, and that view translates to their interpretation of the current state of American affairs. They've essentially given up, and I'm not quite there, despite the fact that there's ample evidence suggesting another culture is primed to seize dominance. I would say that we live in a pivotal time. This is an era when society is reconsidering what it sees as important, an era when we are abandoning some of our old ways with the realization that they're obsolete, while experimenting with new ways of doing things. This applies to all facets of life, including culture, art, economics, music, historical interpretations, and how we manage our political systems. I think the reason we're going through all of this change is that most have come to accept that there were certain things we did in the past that are no longer feasible. We now realize that past generations made many mistakes and we're trying to correct them. The problem that comes with this sort of societal rewiring, is that in the process of giving up the old, we could pick up something problematic in terms of adopting new practices. That's why I see pivotal moments in time as when prudence is most crucial. When experimenting with new ideas, it's not optional to consider every possible outcome of all of the experimentation. Of course I recognize that at some point we need to accept that we'll never be able to foresee every possible outcome of what we're playing with, but I believe that it's imperative that we try our best to look at the path ahead with as clear of a vision and mindset as possible. I understand that I'm being very vague so I'll attempt to elaborate. When I say experimenting with new ideas, I'm talking about many things. I'm referring to how our government operates, I'm talking about cultural and social customs, and I'm talking about the kind of rhetoric we adopt while going about all of these things. But what does this have to do with the American decline? Quite simply, I believe all of this is how we'll either stave it off or hasten it. The world is generally advancing right now, and if we don't take care to advance with it, we'll be left behind. This is something I firmly believe. That's also no just my philosophy concerning the United States, it's my view of my own life as well. I believe that following trends doesn't necessarily make you a sheep, but that often it makes you someone who is realistic about the world around you. That all depends on what the trends are, of course, which is when the concept of individualism becomes indispensable and that brings us back to the US. I feel like a big reason Trump resonated with so many Americans is that they desire to tell the world to piss off. I'd say Brexit happened because of similar sentiments, but that's a topic for another entry. In my experience, Americans, myself included, value individualism. We don't like to be like everyone else and that's very much why Americans are usually depicted as over the top and in your face with their patriotism. That depiction in popular culture isn't necessarily inaccurate, because many Americans are that way, however I also see that as problematic and part of the American decline. I think we want to be individualistic and independent so badly that many have become willing to sacrifice having friends for it. The president seems to exemplify that perfectly, but while many of his supporters say he's "putting America first", I disagree. He's not making America first, he's making America alone. There's a huge difference and it's frustrating how so many people fail to see that. That's driving the American decline. In my eyes, we have two options: we can either accept the fact that cooperation is necessary in a global world and make some changes, or we can stick to our guns and go out in a catastrophic star spangled explosion that leaves us alone and hated. I seriously want the former, because contrary to what some may say, I love my country, but as far as I can see, many are pushing us towards the latter.