America seems to be over, but as someone who has traveled this world over since the late 1970s, I can tell you unequivocally that it had been over for quite awhile. While in most countries people were kind and respectful to those of us traveling together, they were not so nice about America.
See, America has increasingly been seen in the world as a bully worse than Russia. If we don’t like you or your leadership, we make up a reason for war and destroy your country. We claim it is for a high moral purpose but it isn’t. If you doubt this, ask Vietnam, or Iraq, or Iran – and that’s just for starts. We have at one point or another overthrown every government in Central America, or assassinated their leader that we didn’t like.
We stand as the bullies who can end life on this planet with our nuclear weapons. Yeah, so can Russia but I don’t live there. I live here, where foreigners are jailed, deported and allowed to die in horrible conditions while waiting for the vaunted American democracy to save them. Where we are now threatening to take over Canada and Greenland despite no historic connections. In case you missed this in history class, America fought with Canada a long time ago. That border we share is the result. They didn’t want to be Americans then and they sure as hell don’t want to be Americans now. As for Greenland, they didn’t even know we knew they existed except for that lovely Blue Lagoon.
The last century was the American century. This is the century of Asia and Africa. Europe and Europeans – that’s us folks! – are reaching the end of oversized influence in the world. Given how we have handled that influence, it’s probably a good thing. Saying that we brought “civilization” to the rest of the world is saying that no other culture that existed anywhere else in the world was civilized.
What a crappy way to approach other people. No wonder the world is not exactly mourning the loss of America as that city of light on the hill. They never really saw us that way. We did but they didn’t.
I’d say Goddess Bless America but right now, I can’t think of a single reason why she would.