Globalization: Your views on America in a post-American world

[BonsaiK]

I'm from Australia.

The world is only "post-America" economically, thanks to various short-sighted political and business decisions made by governments and corporations in the US since the 1960s. In terms of culture, America is still more important than everywhere else, that probably won't be changing anytime soon, and in fact will probably only increase as America continues its inevitable downward economic slide, because there's nothing like economic hardship and bone-grinding poverty to produce excellent cultural artifacts (see blues, reggae, jazz, hip-hop).

I don't really have any strong feeling about America one way or the other. It's just another country.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

As someone from the USA, I reject the assumption that we're currently living in "a post-American world" as suggested by the title of the thread.

I just got back from London Study Abroad and part of my assignment is to write about how people feel about the United States in global affairs.I got most of the opinions I needed, but I forgot the most important opinions of all! I need the voices of people like you. Yes you. Even you Tony..

You can talk about anything from 9/11 to President Barack Obama. I just need a few quick opinions. Hate us, Love us, I don't really care, just say something fairly productive. I know there are couple of other posts like this out there but most of them either a. went in to pointless flaming or b. have a really low post count. Oh and if you could leave your country of origin in your post that would be great.

Oh and a few months ago I made a post about advice for going to London. Thanks for all the Londoners and English who gave me excellent advice! It goes without saying I think your entire country rocks.

Question: What do you mean by post-American world?

OT: Country: good. Government: pretty abusive. America has flaws, like everywhere else does, but in my opinion it's still the best place to live. The government is kinda being the international bully right now, and will probably continue to do so until 40 years of bad economic policies cause it's economy to collapse, so I hate the government, but the country itself is a good place to live.

I live in NY state USA.

I mean a world where America is no longer the last superpower but just merely another player in the global market, ect.

I'd say that the USA is still a superpower. It has one of the top militaries and one of the top economies. I would say it's the most powerful of the 3 superpowers, USA>China>European Union with the EU being a mostly economic power. Keep in mind, I think China is very close to the US in power, but I believe that the US is slightly more powerful(for now).

Hmmm...How about a declining American world. While we still hold the top spot both in terms of military and economy, we won't have it for much longer. China and India are both growing at a rapid pace. China alone has more smart people then we have people and India is set to outpace China in terms of population. In terms of numbers and the desire to work we as an American people can't keep up with that. I would say that isn't a problem because Americans have always had a sense of innovation but even that is diminishing soon. It's not just China and India that are rising either, Brazil is certainly on the rise as well.

On top of that we have constant bickering among politicians that never gets anything accomplished, the lowest reading and math proficiency in industrialized nations, companies that continue to outsource, and massive corruption and unfair power distribution in every level of the government.

Furthermore American policies are met with not distrust and anger, but more of disdain. There are movements to have organizations like NAFTA or the UN that intentionally leave out the United States.

I'm not saying we are not a powerful country. We still are. But if we keep trying to do things like we have for the past 200 years or so, we won't stay on top much longer, which frankly is fine with me. We don't need to be under the limelight of the world any longer.

 

[tthor]

Frankly, do to America's poor financial status and how we are basically set up, I fear that America is going to have some severe problems within the next hundred years. at some point we are going to have to fess up to the our country's debts, and the longer we put off this debt, the worse it is going to be. And once we are forced to realize our debt, I don't know what will happen to us, or if the nation will even be able to survive that.

Minnesota, USA

 

[Craorach]

From an outsider's point of view?

As an Englishman who lives in Australia, America scares the hell out of me.

Firstly, I believe it is honestly too big and varied a society to really be one country. It seems to me that the only way that the US government is able to unite its people is by giving them some kind of outside threat. America defines itself by its enemies. This mindset filters down even to the lowest level and is re-enforced by your very constitution encouraging you to see even your own government as your potential enemy.

It is a land of violent contradiction, where that government is incapable of truly representing its people, and seems to have given up trying. It is a place that claims to value freedom on an almost religious level, but has willingly and eagerly thrown those freedom's away for anyone who doesn't agree with the way they do things.

It is a land of witch hunts, from Salem, to the State Un-American Activities Commission, to Gitmo and the War on Terror.

It is a land of incredibly racism and abuse of minorities... while the next state over will approach PCism with a religious zeal. It is a land of Super Size and liposuction. It is a land that promotes selfishness as a way of life, and decries helping others as the Great Demon Socialism.

It is, frankly, a land that cannot decide what it wants or who it wants to be.. it is Europe's rebellious teenage kid who grew up and still can't work out it's place in the world... it wants to be a rebel, but not to much, it still wants approval, but not to help others, it wants to move forward, but is stuck in the past, it hates tradition, but can't question those it creates itself.

 

[spartan231490]

As someone from the USA, I reject the assumption that we're currently living in "a post-American world" as suggested by the title of the thread.

I just got back from London Study Abroad and part of my assignment is to write about how people feel about the United States in global affairs.I got most of the opinions I needed, but I forgot the most important opinions of all! I need the voices of people like you. Yes you. Even you Tony..

You can talk about anything from 9/11 to President Barack Obama. I just need a few quick opinions. Hate us, Love us, I don't really care, just say something fairly productive. I know there are couple of other posts like this out there but most of them either a. went in to pointless flaming or b. have a really low post count. Oh and if you could leave your country of origin in your post that would be great.

Oh and a few months ago I made a post about advice for going to London. Thanks for all the Londoners and English who gave me excellent advice! It goes without saying I think your entire country rocks.

Question: What do you mean by post-American world?

OT: Country: good. Government: pretty abusive. America has flaws, like everywhere else does, but in my opinion it's still the best place to live. The government is kinda being the international bully right now, and will probably continue to do so until 40 years of bad economic policies cause it's economy to collapse, so I hate the government, but the country itself is a good place to live.

I live in NY state USA.

I mean a world where America is no longer the last superpower but just merely another player in the global market, ect.

I'd say that the USA is still a superpower. It has one of the top militaries and one of the top economies. I would say it's the most powerful of the 3 superpowers, USA>China>European Union with the EU being a mostly economic power. Keep in mind, I think China is very close to the US in power, but I believe that the US is slightly more powerful(for now).

Hmmm...How about a declining American world. While we still hold the top spot both in terms of military and economy, we won't have it for much longer. China and India are both growing at a rapid pace. China alone has more smart people then we have people and India is set to outpace China in terms of population. In terms of numbers and the desire to work we as an American people can't keep up with that. I would say that isn't a problem because Americans have always had a sense of innovation but even that is diminishing soon. It's not just China and India that are rising either, Brazil is certainly on the rise as well.

On top of that we have constant bickering among politicians that never gets anything accomplished, the lowest reading and math proficiency in industrialized nations, companies that continue to outsource, and massive corruption and unfair power distribution in every level of the government.

Furthermore American policies are met with not distrust and anger, but more of disdain. There are movements to have organizations like NAFTA or the UN that intentionally leave out the United States.

I'm not saying we are not a powerful country. We still are. But if we keep trying to do things like we have for the past 200 years or so, we won't stay on top much longer, which frankly is fine with me. We don't need to be under the limelight of the world any longer.

I can agree with that. I think we would stay on top if we hadn't had so many bad economic policies over the last 40 years, but as it is our economy can't hold out much longer, so we won't be a super power much longer.

 

[lightningmagurn]

I just got back from London Study Abroad and part of my assignment is to write about how people feel about the United States in global affairs.I got most of the opinions I needed, but I forgot the most important opinions of all! I need the voices of people like you. Yes you. Even you Tony..

You can talk about anything from 9/11 to President Barack Obama. I just need a few quick opinions. Hate us, Love us, I don't really care, just say something fairly productive. I know there are couple of other posts like this out there but most of them either a. went in to pointless flaming or b. have a really low post count. Oh and if you could leave your country of origin in your post that would be great.

Oh and a few months ago I made a post about advice for going to London. Thanks for all the Londoners and English who gave me excellent advice! It goes without saying I think your entire country rocks.

Question: What do you mean by post-American world?

OT: Country: good. Government: pretty abusive. America has flaws, like everywhere else does, but in my opinion it's still the best place to live. The government is kinda being the international bully right now, and will probably continue to do so until 40 years of bad economic policies cause it's economy to collapse, so I hate the government, but the country itself is a good place to live.

I live in NY state USA.

I mean a world where America is no longer the last superpower but just merely another player in the global market, ect.

I'd say that the USA is still a superpower. It has one of the top militaries and one of the top economies. I would say it's the most powerful of the 3 superpowers, USA>China>European Union with the EU being a mostly economic power. Keep in mind, I think China is very close to the US in power, but I believe that the US is slightly more powerful(for now).

LOL powerful granted, but useful? They can eventually defeat a man they put into power and throw his country into chaos, and get mired in a guerilla war of unwinnable in order to kill a guy who's hiding for ten years in their allies shed? WTF??? Powerful mayhaps. Awesome hardware is awesome, but with crappy software, it all goes wrong. Try running a supercomputer on unpatched WIN95 and call that powerful please, it'd be less funny.

Well, I think you are marginalizing the U.S. economy. We can put tremendous pressure on other nations without using our military (Iran) Also, I think you are looking at the military wrong. While it is true that on the large scale, the American military is making and has made mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan, on a tactical scale, no standing army can match the American military, and one of the reasons America is still heavily tangled with raq and Afghanistan, is the failure of local partners, not U.S. military failures. Even at the worst times in Iraq, (the figure is from 2006) U.S. troops killed 55 enemies and captured 65 for every lost U.S. serviceman. I think the super computer analogy is off the mark. I think that it isn't a software or hardware error, I think it is a failure to mesh changing software with awesome hardware.
I can't tell if that made any sense. My point: The U.S. Has a pawerful economy, despite debt, and has a powerful military. Failure of policy and strategy does not mean failures of tactics, equipment, or personel.
Afghanistan isn't unwinnable, and the pakistani government can only be loosely called an ally. You should read Not a Good Day to Die, by Sean Naylor. In the book, U.S. Forces meet tactical success, defeating an numerically superior enemy, but the insistance of Afghanis being a crucial part of the operation allowed Osama to escape.

OT: I think America can either take two options. My Generation can either shoulder the burden given to us, and work hard to make (or keep) America great, or let us slide into obscurity. We are on the turning point in our nation that will define our future in a world facing many aggressive competiters.
I am 17 and live in MA.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Our disposable lifestyle has finally come to bite us in the ass at last.

In economics: I watched as we gave away our job security and any sense of practicality for convenience and a brief moment of lower prices. We then permitted other countries to stomp all over our good intentions and our laughably foolish "Free Market".

In politics: even in the aftermath of total disaster, we learned much but did not bother to try to correct our mistakes (post Hurricane Katrina or the post housing market bust) when there was quick money to be made.

I recall the SUV/Gas Guzzler blitz of 1997 and could only shake my head and wonder just how long fuel prices would allow that to go on (I was nearly spot on with my prediction of 2004: I would have been a millionaire today if I had any investment money and the legal right to buy stock back when I was in the 7th Grade). Today, I can only lament at how it costs over 50 bucks to fuel up my shitty little compact sedan.

In short: Throughout my life, I have borne mute witness to a culture that has its priorities in the completely wrong places. We've been frivolous and stupid for decades. Fortunately, I think my fellow Americans are genuinely starting to realize that now and that there are people who genuinely want to change that.
Yet, I worry if we are too late to fix anything now.

So if you want an opinion about America, then here's one I've had my entire life:
Throughout my life, my fellow Americans have largely been arrogant, stupid, impractical and wasteful with what they had been given. We confused idiocy with bravado and short-term gains with genuine progress.

Chicago, USA

 

[Craorach]

I could not have said it better myself. Good job mate. But i will add that we are also a land of liberty that denies several liberties from its citizens based on a book we should not derive laws from.

I feel I should add something good so..


It is also a land, being one of infinite variety in culture and people, that produces some truly amazing things. While decrying it's fault's it is all to easy to forget that.. for example.. I am playing WoW right now. I enjoy movies made in America, games, TV shows, books..

So it's not all bad

 

[TheLaofKazi]

Capitalism doesn't solve problems, it just moves them around, and I think that's exactly what we're seeing with globalization. Countries are prosperous for awhile, feeding off of the cheap labor and abundant resources of poorer, less developed countries until they basically become too big and bloated to sustain themselves.

Eventually the bigger country falls apart and the country they once got everything from takes their place as the head of the show. America flourished and became a world power largely because of how much we profited off of World War 1 and 2. War stimulates industry, which in capitalism, is good for the economy. Nevermind all of the deaths, mass use of resources to make weapons, and damage to the environment and to other countries. For at least one party involved, war is good. In order to be prosperous in a capitalistic economy, you usually have to take advantage of another person or party, but at some point, all of that prosperity will carry too much weight. America is going downhill, and the only things that could stop that is either a really, really powerful and well-executed social and political movement that changes thing, or a large war that somehow doesn't directly involve us so that we can profit off of. And to be honest, I don't want the latter to happen, even if it would improve things over here.

It's a sad picture indeed. And as an American, I feel like I'm in a really strange position, because I don't agree with pretty much anything we're doing, and don't really have much control (Voting, I guess? Gosh, I feel like I have such a voice -_-). I guess I'm just along for the ride, and the crazy, unique culture that comes out of it. That's really the only thing that I can feel 'patriotic' about: The passionate, strange artistic voice of the people who have no choice but to deal with the deplorable, greedy actions of corporations and the government.

 

[Arsen]

This is going to come off as a major generalization, but I feel the underlying problem is a lack of ability to be firm and ensure our success through more "authoritarian" means. We need to adjust our laws, ensure the money isn't spent in a negative/contradictory fashion, look out for our own with our own, become more independent, and stop relying on others for the sake of political positioning/games. We also need to stop caring how certain coutries of little or no worth view us. Allow the credible ones to directly criticize us for our flaws and negative aspects, but overall... we try to please too many people. People who aren't going to be for our global position in the end.

 

[Yoshisummons]

stuff

Couldn't agree more, we could split a six pack of some beverage your choice. The best Americans can hope for is for things to become so bad that people will vote just the right leader and group of politicians.

From an American perspective others have beaten me many times over so sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[intheweeds]

-snip-

Yeah. America has a habit of doing that to everyone (in regards to farming). Sorry about that.

Anyways, thanks for your post. I'll probably use it. I haven't gotten a non-american poster on here so far and Canada is right next to us...so...yeah.

Also, what do you think about President Obama's attempt to get a universal health care system.

Personally, I think it's a great idea. It sure seems to work well for us here. It makes me very sad to know that some people can't get access to the health care they need due to finances. It's just something we take for granted here. I know there are some people in the states that believe it's inherently bad, but I'm not really sure what they're arguments are. I'm not hugely educated about the debate, honestly. I just know it works for Canada and some other countries, I think it's worth looking into. The U.S.A. is a very wealthy country. It's just terrible to think that working class people could get injured and not be adequately taken care of.

 

[Kolby Jack]

Also, because America is in a rut right now, it's much more common for people to say how bad things are. Once we get out of it (we will), things will go back to the "America is teh greatest" stuff again. It's a pattern that repeats itself for every country, not just the US.

 

[Lazier Than Thou]

I see America as currently at a crossroads between the two major political ideologies. There are those pushing for socialism and government intervention and those pushing for capitalism and small government. For too long the people have thought they could have their cake and eat it, too.

Ten years ago, this wasn't such a big thing. However, with the current economic times all around the globe, I can't help but think a major economic collapse will be coming sometime "soon." When that comes, it will be a fight for the future of America as it was or will be. Either we will revert to the Constitutional Republic we were or go the way or Rome.

Utah, USA.

 

[Brian Hendershot]

I felt strangely weirded out by the OP because my very nickname is Tony.

YESSS!!!!! I love it when something like that happens.

 

[WanderingFool]

I think there is an, apparent, staggering difference between what politicians want and what the American people want. I think it's sad how hung up they are on their own parties. They seem to be so conceited as to actually think by asserting their party beliefs in any situation, every problem will magically be solved. No compromise. No talking. No listening. They think by being obstinate in their historical and grass roots view on things, they are somehow being "heroic" or "revolutionary." The fact of the matter is they are neither--they are being stubborn, spoiled brats who are so afraid of losing their power they will never say anything the majority of their party won't agree with.

And I'm talking both Republicans and Democrats, here. Both deserve a good kick in the teeth. They can take their fundamental beliefs and shove them right up their asses. It's all just a game to them. A game they're played hundreds of thousands of dollars to play, and we are the ones at stake if they lose.

Oh, and I'm from Missouri. And a female, if that means anything to your study. Good luck~

Well, this basically is what I was going to say... Im not a political science major, but I have a good idea that the government that America has now is NOT what the founding fathers of our country wanted. I honestly think the government would run much smoother if the Congress was completely demolished, God knows how fucking backwards and corroded it is now.

Also, I would disband any and all permanent, major political parties (i.e. Democrats and Republicans) as the polarizing effect of having these two huge political entities causes so much infighting and battle-line drawing that it makes getting anything done impossible.

Also, Im a Democrat and from Pennsylvania.