A Brit’s Personal Reflections on America’s Decline
As I write this, an American president is threatening to end a civilisation and chatting to toddlers about Autopens.
America has throughout my life been a constant: the world’s superpower. An unabashed place that leads the world in science, art, creativity and raw military power. Today it feels like a superpower that has become a shadow of its former self.
Childhood and Teenage Years
As a child brought up in the late 1980s and 1990s, America was many things. It was a beacon of liberty and justice in the world. America sent people to space, made amazing movies and TV, fought injustice across the globe, smiting bad guys left, right and centre.
This was of course based on views of America shaped through the media. But that is another story for another day.
When I was 10 or 11, my Grandad went on a long holiday to America, and he brought back stories, and mementos and photos. It looked a magical, exciting place. His second wife had a sister who lived in America and had worked there herself for a short while. America felt like the place to be. "Everything is bigger in America" my Grandad would say.
America felt like the standard all nations should aspire to. It felt like America kept us safe and was the world’s good guys.
College and University
During sixth form college I was of course into saying that Americanisation was bad, whilst listening to Nu-metal, watching films like Fight Club, Platoon and Saving Private Ryan.
Whilst at university, the veneer began to wear off. 9/11 happened, then Iraq, and Gitmo happened. Plus delving into the history of the Cold War in detail really takes the shine.
However, just after graduation, I visited America and honestly, the people were lovely, and at times it felt like visiting a movie set.
Some things felt very odd about America, different, but still a cool place to visit.
America felt a different place, less aspirational to me, more a cool place to visit and as the leaders of the free world, probably just going through a tough time and would resume its rightful place.
Working Life
When I graduated, Bush won a new term, and then Obama won one election, then two. The credit crunch happened, social media, and tech. On the whole America became less important, but still was the world’s favourite soap opera.
This era felt the waning of American soft power. Stories about healthcare costs, racism, workers’ rights, lifestyle and guns chipped away at America's shiny image.
Then Trump happened.
Trump
The Trumpian era feels like two generations of decline in one short decade: economic, social, cultural and soft power. America feels a hostile place currently. Trump seems to personify everything wrong with America and its decline.
And yet during this time I got to work and interact with Americans whilst working from home. I got to speak with people in over 40 states, and throughout my life working in recruitment have spoken with many Americans.
This dichotomy is at the heart of American decline. Americans are loud people, but they are also genuine and decent people, hard working and inventive. Let down by their political leadership and system that creates conflict over compromise and slagging matches over solutions.
Final Thoughts
The American people as I have witnessed myself both when visiting and working with are warm-hearted people. They live normal decent lives and genuinely believe in their nation. They have been let down by their political class in Washington far too often who put gallivanting across the world stage ahead of their people.
America is becoming the leading great power in the world, and not the lone superpower.
Although this is a fall from grace, maybe, just maybe it will prove to be the moment that America puts its house in order at home, and resumes being the nation that inspires the world with its science, creativity and ingenuity.
The world needs more Artemis rockets and less cruise missiles from America, and so do its people.