And the Land of the Brave and the Home of the Free

It’s no secret that I don’t like Donald Trump as a President. I believe that while his policies may have a short-term gain in some aspects, in the long term, his boorish behavior and downright nasty policies on immigration and foreign policy will be bad for the world and America, the nation that he claims to care so much about.

A few Americans I know, would say that my dislike for their president might have something to do with the fact that my personal politics are slanted to the left or that I don’t understand what or how “White America” feels about being displaced by migrants from Mexico and “losing” the global stage for “unfair” competition from China and to a lesser extent Russia and India.

My dislike for the Trump administration has nothing to do with either. I don’t consider myself particularly slanted to the political left or right. One of my professors (A Canadian Lady living in London) complained that she had failed to put a liberal thought in my head. I also don’t believe that government is a solution to anything particular (which puts me in the Reagan version of the conservative movement, though in Singapore I guess I’m considered something of a loony left radical).

I also stress the point that I am the ideal target for ‘anti-immigrant’ messages. I belong to the ethnic majority in my homeland and I am a “college graduate” who had to take on a blue-collar job in my late thirties just to make ends meet. Yet, despite being shoved onto the ground when I could least afford it, I understand that I’m not entitled to a cushy office job (most are overrated in my opinion) and my lot in life is not the fault of the poorer and darker people from other parts of the world. So, I’m sorry, I simply cannot rationalize or internalize “anti-migrant” sentiment.

I have family from White America. Both parents remarried White Americans after they got divorced and I struck the lottery. On my Mum’s second marriage, I got a wonderful stepfather, Lee who brought me to my extended family lead by my stepsister, Carol. From my Dad’s second marriage, I got the most amazing granny, Joan. For me, this part of my family represents why America in so many ways is the Greatest Nation around and I say this as an ethnic Chinese who does look forward to a strong and vibrant China.

What makes America great. Well, the statistics are glaring. Despite China’s vast and rapid rise, America still leads the way in so many aspects of life. It has the world’s largest economy, the world’s most innovative universities and the most technologically advanced military machine (as a matter of fact, America spends more than the next 26 nations combined – 25 of which are allies or as a Taiwanese fellow once said, “China is modernizing its military but it’s modernizing from the 1950s).

For me, these are just statistics. China will be the largest economy by the mere fact that is has so many more people and when China is the largest economy, the average Chinese will feel less well to do than the average American. China is very advanced in certain technological sectors (e-commerce and e-payments as in my previous posting) but the world still looks to Silicon Valley for leadership in innovation. America still rules the world and I believe its for a good reason, and that reason can be found in my American family.

The key to American dominance of the world lies in its ability to be open to the rest of the world. There’s something about America that makes people want to go there and not just go there – go there and succeed. Trump and gang may complain about people from “Shithole” nations but these are the very people who come over and make the place work. As one Southern Baptist I know said, “Americans always complain about the Mexicans but its Mexicans who make the basic services run.”

And it’s not just the Mexicans who want to come to America and to do well. One of my best friends in Singapore is a Nepali migrant who wants to go to the USA because he believes, despite Trump, that its place that all you need to do is to work hard and in the Americans I know, things like race or religion don’t matter as long as people believe you made your success through hard work. I have a friend of Pakistani Decent who has done well in the USA and the fact that he’s Muslim and a darker skin tone that the majority in Oregon is not a factor in how people view him.

I make no secret of the fact that I disagree with much of American foreign policy, particularly in the Arab World. However, I also believe that America has done much for the world to be thankful for. In Europe (a continent that I called home for my formative years); it was the “Marshal Plan” that helped Europe rebuild after the second World War. In Asia, a continent I currently call home, it’s the American military that has kept stability and American education has helped mold the minds of very successful business leaders.

While the Trumpites might disagree with me aggressively, I’ve noticed that America has actually grown despite competition from Europe (particularly Germany) and Asia (Japan, India and obviously China) despite having “given advantages” to its competition. As Jack Welsh, former CEO of General Electric (While GE may be going through a rough patch, it has proven to be a far more successful business than say – The Trump Organization).once argued “You can complain about China growing or you can look at the opportunities a growing China offers you.”

My family America continues to welcome me with open arms despite the fact that my parents are no longer married to their respective second spouses. When I told Nora, my dad’s second wife about Jenny, her first reaction was “Tell my granddaughter, welcome to the family.” To me, that’s America and that is why America remains great despite Trump.