I always cringe when I hear our president or political leaders say that the United States is the greatest country in the world. It makes me want to look around sheepishly to see if anyone is listening. I wonder what non-Americans think when they hear such bravado. Moreover, it is just simply impolite and rude to be so egotistical. Aren’t most of us taught that from childhood? And if you really are the greatest, you don’t have to announce it because everyone already knows it, right? I have friends who live in Canada, Finland, Germany and Mexico who think their countries are great.
What’s so great about what’s going on in the United States right now? We have a president who has started a trade war with the world disrupting global trade while he continues to threaten NATO and cozies up to authoritarian leaders from Russia to Latin America. Domestically, he has ridden roughshod over fundamental civil liberties, including 1st amendment freedoms and due process of law. He has attacked the courts, law firms, the media and schools and universities.
Great countries don’t boast, don’t turn their backs on friends and allies and don’t make their own citizens suffer because of politics, ideological differences or personal animosities. Great countries do not follow the lead of petulant leaders obsessed with power and revenge.
We have lost our way.