Some of my friends argue that the culture of the United States prohibits a national health plan, a sound climate change policy, stricter gun laws, and other progressive reforms. While admitting that such reforms would alleviate much suffering on paper, my friends say they simply won't work in our country. Is there really something thoroughly un-American about pursuing national goals? Would enacting these reforms really destroy the United States as we know it?
Unfortunately, the United States is already being destroyed because some of our most upstanding values have been perverted while others have been forgotten completely. Americans have long valued personal freedom--freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to make money through a capitalist economy. Closely tied to this value of individual freedom is the American dream--the idealized story of a person who rises from poverty using their own ingenuity and elbow grease, without assistance from others. Unfortunately, research shows that inter-generational socioeconomic mobility in the U.S. is substantially less than that in Europe and Canada (see Understanding mobility in America by Tom Hertz: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2006/04/Hertz_MobilityAnalysis.pdf). It turns out that giving people the nominal freedom to make money with low taxes does not imply you are giving them the means to success, no matter how much they work. Lack of education, jobs, and health care are all huge obstacles that can't be overcome simply by letting people do as they please. Furthermore, the American ideal of personal freedom has been warped into an exaggerated "I do what I want" attitude, in all aspects of life (larger and larger serving sizes at McDonald's, for example), in which any sort of collective organization or movement by the nation as a whole is seen as undermining one's "freedom." It's not entirely clear how this came about, but politics certainly played a role. After all, the idea of a health care mandate originally came from Republicans and was later vehemently opposed for political reasons.
In any case, the emphasis on individuality comes at a time when going it alone is becoming a poorer and poorer strategy in multiple diverse contexts. In foreign policy, unilateral military action without support from allies in the 21st century is ludicrous. In technology, crowd-sourcing and global communication have made it possible to accomplish complex tasks. In science and medicine, great strides are being made by collaborations among experts in different areas. We are seeing that modern nations do not survive if they remain divided as millions of individual families trying to make the best of things. Modern nations thrive when they combine their resources for a common goal. The big problems of today--health care, climate change, gun violence--require unified action from the entire nation. The issues we currently face are no less daunting than those faced during World War II, when we came together unified against a common enemy, and we reached the height of our international prowess. In the 1940s, people prided themselves on making sacrifices for the good of the country, and overcoming today's problems will also require sacrifices. Unfortunately, making sacrifices is no longer on Americans' value radar, as we've been spoiled by decades of prosperity.
In sum, I believe that American values at their best are in support of the reforms we need to tackle climate change, health care shortages, and other major issues. What's actually in the way of these reforms is Americans themselves, who have become complacent and oblivious to the loss of respect that the U.S. once commanded on the world stage. Our political leaders have failed as well to light the fire and rekindle the collective spirit of the nation. We need them to emphasize the urgency, because today's challenges are insidious, without a "Pearl Harbor" call to arms. Let's stop being anti-social, America, and come together for the good of our nation and the world!
Unfortunately, the United States is already being destroyed because some of our most upstanding values have been perverted while others have been forgotten completely. Americans have long valued personal freedom--freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to make money through a capitalist economy. Closely tied to this value of individual freedom is the American dream--the idealized story of a person who rises from poverty using their own ingenuity and elbow grease, without assistance from others. Unfortunately, research shows that inter-generational socioeconomic mobility in the U.S. is substantially less than that in Europe and Canada (see Understanding mobility in America by Tom Hertz: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2006/04/Hertz_MobilityAnalysis.pdf). It turns out that giving people the nominal freedom to make money with low taxes does not imply you are giving them the means to success, no matter how much they work. Lack of education, jobs, and health care are all huge obstacles that can't be overcome simply by letting people do as they please. Furthermore, the American ideal of personal freedom has been warped into an exaggerated "I do what I want" attitude, in all aspects of life (larger and larger serving sizes at McDonald's, for example), in which any sort of collective organization or movement by the nation as a whole is seen as undermining one's "freedom." It's not entirely clear how this came about, but politics certainly played a role. After all, the idea of a health care mandate originally came from Republicans and was later vehemently opposed for political reasons.
In any case, the emphasis on individuality comes at a time when going it alone is becoming a poorer and poorer strategy in multiple diverse contexts. In foreign policy, unilateral military action without support from allies in the 21st century is ludicrous. In technology, crowd-sourcing and global communication have made it possible to accomplish complex tasks. In science and medicine, great strides are being made by collaborations among experts in different areas. We are seeing that modern nations do not survive if they remain divided as millions of individual families trying to make the best of things. Modern nations thrive when they combine their resources for a common goal. The big problems of today--health care, climate change, gun violence--require unified action from the entire nation. The issues we currently face are no less daunting than those faced during World War II, when we came together unified against a common enemy, and we reached the height of our international prowess. In the 1940s, people prided themselves on making sacrifices for the good of the country, and overcoming today's problems will also require sacrifices. Unfortunately, making sacrifices is no longer on Americans' value radar, as we've been spoiled by decades of prosperity.
In sum, I believe that American values at their best are in support of the reforms we need to tackle climate change, health care shortages, and other major issues. What's actually in the way of these reforms is Americans themselves, who have become complacent and oblivious to the loss of respect that the U.S. once commanded on the world stage. Our political leaders have failed as well to light the fire and rekindle the collective spirit of the nation. We need them to emphasize the urgency, because today's challenges are insidious, without a "Pearl Harbor" call to arms. Let's stop being anti-social, America, and come together for the good of our nation and the world!
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