‘True Spirit’ of 1776
Applies to All the World’s People (Khaleej
Times, United Arab Emirates)
“As America
celebrates another Independence Day with characteristic aplomb and gaiety, it would
also be timely for that nation to do some soul-searching on the role it plays
internationally. … Whatever the domestic politics taking center stage in the U.S.
today, what its politicians must remember is that their decisions have far-reaching
consequences across the world.”
The United States of America: A young nation that has inspired the world, it has a heavy responsibility to live up to its own ideals, not only for its own people, but for people around the world.
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them. … ” So
begins the U.S. Declaration of Independence, drafted on this day in 1776.
As America celebrates another Independence Day with
characteristic aplomb and gaiety, it would also be timely for that nation to do
some soul-searching on the role it plays internationally.
Perhaps every argument that the Declaration puts forth as
“causes that” impelled Americans “to the separation” might serve as a good
starting point.
The grand ideals of human freedom, dignity and independence
that America stands for are in fact universal values, and apply as much to the
people of America as they do to people in northwestern Pakistan.
The success that America achieved across all sectors undoubtedly
continues to be an inspiration and aspiration for most nations. The United
States has set powerful benchmarks for human development and in setting social indicators
that serve as templates worth emulating. As the world’s largest economy, the United
States still has enough financial muscle to make a tangible contribution to the
progress of the collective humanity.
Posted
by Worldmeets.US
After all, in today’s globalized world, no nation operates
as a closed economy. Thanks to this global interconnectedness, the global
financial crisis that began with the subprime bubble on America’s property
market had an impact even on clueless Vietnamese farmers.
Whatever the domestic politics taking center stage in the U.S.
today, what its politicians must remember is that their decisions have far-reaching
consequences across the world.
This impact is not only because of America’s overwhelming power,
but because of the global give-and-take that pervades every level of modern economic
and social activity, the breakdown of barriers thanks to the growth in social
media, and the subtle shift in the economic order that the world is witnessing with
the rise of the BRICS nations - most notably China.
America has played a significant role in shaping the
political dynamics of the Middle East - and it continues to do so. Along with
that role comes a responsibility toward the people in the region, which amounts
to a need to uphold the very values that every American dreams of, based in
part on the Declaration of 1776.
In the next 180 days, America will witness another landmark
election. Whatever the outcome, in the journey forward, the United States may
be well served by reexamining some of its baggage from the past.
If America’s 1776 “adversary” – the United Kingdom – has come
to be its sixth largest trading partner, surely, more distant places and
far-flung peoples with no direct or indirect agenda in regard to the United
States, should be able look forward to warmer ties based on the pillars of dignity
and the values of human life.
