The Land of the Free

Waiting for my visa interview due in early July I have time to reflect on my motivation and my attitude to the country in particular. As a staunch proponent of American superiority I admire the country but as a fairly intellectual person I recognize the need for careful analysis.

Recently I have completed my stint of introductory US history studies. Arguably, it is high time for me to look at the country as it is as opposed to its image in secluded far-flung corners of this planet or equally distorted views occasionally instilled by Hollywood. It was hardly surprising that quite a few facts had been either unknown or forgotten by me before I listened to Conquest of the Americas, History of the United States and History of the Supreme Court. Together with Great Presidents, the program I listened to a year ago, I believe those three courses cover the essence of the spectacular American history.

Definitely, the hours I was listening to the courses were time wisely invested and well spent in general. It was enormously fascinating to follow the development of the greatest country from a few initial fiascos by the Brits and the Spaniards, through mind-boggling evolution replete with violent infighting to the present-day runaway success and challenges frequently rooted in the very same history.

The first surprise was the difficulties faced by the early colonists. In both Americas, there were numerous uphill battles in which our wins seem to have resulted from sheer luck and incredible resolution. Hundreds of Spaniards against millions of indigenous people in Central America, a handful of pilgrims against the hordes of ferocious Indians in New England - it is truly impossible to grasp how insurmountable the situation was. Another long forgotten fact is that once upon a time the Spaniards were quite a force themselves - not exactly the impression one would get looking at contemporary drowsy Spain or the lousy lands to the south of the US.

In my opinion, the most stunning aspect of the American history is that the country has faced pretty much the same problems as other countries but only the US has managed to cope with them to such an extent. There were clashes among local elites, an incomprehensible gory war between the North and the South, gangsters, power-hungry politicians, soulless tycoons - and despite all of them the democracy, property and privacy rights, local government able to fight the faceless Feds have survived. Surely enough, the US was blessed with the British pedigree but of many places civilized by the Brits only a few kept the direction once the Empire had withdrawn.

On the flip side, there are ominous signs of the fact that the American civilization has probably passed its pinnacle and might be moving towards decadence experienced by all the great empires. For example, in every of the courses there were significant hesitations in asserting the righteousness and supremacy of the Western civilization and the American heritage in particular. Well, history teaches us that empires are leveled by internal weaknesses, not by the power of barbarians. Lost virtues and stray actions are frequently attributed to the US by envious foreigners but the fact that the nation itself becomes ashamed of its glorious ascendancy is worrying.

The course on the Supreme Court, while being mildly boring, demonstrated some dirty mechanics behind the ability to cope with the aforementioned difficulties as well as the lack of perfection. As in any place, there have always been conflicting interests and opposite powers but somehow the balance has been kept. This is a complete puzzle for me. I live in a place where the bad guys have always won throughout the history (surely enough those battles were not settled in a court of law) so from here the American progress and its legal system seem to be a miracle even taking into account occasional lapses.

All in all, the course about the Presidents was one of the most engaging. There were numerous lessons on leadership, resilience and determination. The country has been blessed with so many bright people at the helm. On the other hand, the same puzzle baffled me again - how despite all the power struggles, debauchery and nepotism decent people managed to get to the top (and even less than perfect human beings nevertheless led the country to the prosperity)?

All in all, the lesson learnt is that the US is as close to a perfect country for decent people as it is reasonable to expect in this imperfect world. Yes, such a huge society (not to mention millions of people willing to join the country even when they have not achieved enough to deserve such relocation) inflicts additional burdens. Yes, the same problems appear wherever people are present. But the state of affairs indicates that somehow all those issues are solvable in the country I am heading to.