What’s Truly Great About America
Sometimes I need to correct the Internet from its tragic mistakes. The latest incident was a quote that got posted earlier this morning:
“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.”
- Andy Warhol
With all due respect to Andy Warhol and Fred Wilson, American buying habits have nothing to do with what is great about America. It is a nice sentiment that people across the economic spectrum are buying Coke, using iPhones, and goofing off on Instagram. It makes us feel that maybe we have this collective consciousness binding us together regardless of our individual circumstances.
The trouble with this idea is that they are also doing this in China, France, Kuwait, and pretty much anywhere else on this planet. So what if America was the “first” to do that. Buying stuff simply makes us consumers beholden to soulless corporate masters. If anything, America is consuming itself out of existence as we drown in debt in a race to buy even more stuff.
There is no doubt that there is something uniquely amazing about America. We feel it, countries across the globe recognize it, and our achievements prove it. So what is great about American then?
- America was built on a document which elucidates and guarantees our inalienable rights as a people.
- America has a government which gives a voice to its people and the power to fairly elect our representatives.
- America embraces diversity of ideas and cultures by welcoming people from all around the world to come and prosper.
- America is an entrepreneurial country that accepts challenges, rewards risk taking, and supports free enterprise in an open economy.
- America provides free education to all children and the opportunity to all to better themselves through hard work and determination.
America holds the standing it does in the world today because of these five unique characteristics. Our economic might, our ability to innovate, our achievements, our freedom all stem from an innate and unshakable faith in the foundation of America.
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