We Americans

We Americans are too afraid. We've been brainwashed by a tyrannical administration for 8 long years. We've been told time and again, we are not safe. We've been told the world hates us. We've lost freedoms and rational judgement. We've literally and figuratively barricaded our doors. In the process, we've lost our warm and welcoming heart.

We Americans have been sheltered by 2 vast oceans and 2 benign neighbors. We have also been sheltered by arrogance. We have largely felt superior to the rest of the world, never really finding it needful to understand anyone beyond our borders. Most Americans speak only one language, oftentimes incorrectly. Why would the population of the world's leading country need to bother with others? We are the way-showers, the benchmark, the heralded blueprint of democracy. So why bother with others? Because while we have been cowering in our sleep, the world has awoken.

If America wants to retain its leading edge, it must learn to embrace the rest of the world. We must choose to step down from the high horse we have marched forward on before we are thrown from the saddle. We must choose to actively live as if the rest of the world matters. Because it does. For many reasons. The number one reason being peace. Add to the reasons, our collective safety and our economic solvency.

You know how good it feels when some one understands you as an individual? When some one "gets" you? We call that person a friend. We bond. We enjoy and respect each other. And we stand up for each other. We become each other's protector. All because we can be our true selves with that person, and being ourselves is the greatest longing of our hearts. So apply that feeling on a larger scale. Populations of countries bothering to get to know each other, learning from each other and understanding each other. It all leads to respect and watching each other's backs. Which leads to stability and the flow of money around the globe.

We Americans need to stop being so afraid. We need to wake up to a vibrant world. We need to open our hearts and find ways to connect with human beings beyond our isolating borders, human beings who have so many of the same wants and needs as we do. In welcoming the world, we ensure our collective safety and our financial liquidity. In welcoming the world, in warming our hearts, we add more life to life.

{ This post was inspired by the book, The Post-American World, by Fareed Zakaria. An enlightening, easily understandable look at the reasons for the rise fo the rest of the world.}

For another opinion on the plight of America, go here. It makes sense to me!