It’s been a rough year, a rough month, a rough week. Police shooting minorities, police being shot; Brexit creating global uncertainty; thousands of people dying in Syria including an uptick in child suicides; another terror attack in France; China vowing to ignore an international tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines; a US Presidential election where almost nobody really likes the two leading candidates; negative interest rates in major economies threatening to upend the world economy.
If this is the new normal, then a lot of people are being left out in the cold and those that are not are understandably worried.
So if you are living in the good old US of A, here are 10 reasons to remember how lucky you are and that the future is actually quite bright:
Two oceans, two neighbors
The US has the amazing fortune to have two wide oceans on either coast and only two neighbors to its north and south. Moreover, it has not had an armed conflict involving either neighbor for over 100 years. Compare that with Europe, where relatively small nations mean multiple borders, or China, which borders 14 countries. The US is very fortunate as this geography frees it from most worries about physical attacks on our country. Border disputes are non-existent. Mindspace can be devoted primarily to domestic issues and foreign affairs generally are much more distant figuratively and physically.
Silicon Valley and innovation
We are in the midst of another bubble in
Silicon Valley but that doesn’t matter: it is the engine of global innovation. While other countries are catching up, Silicon Valley sets the standard and continues to offer world-best companies in the heritage of Intel, Apple, Google, Facebook, Tesla, Oracle, eBay – the list goes on. The US has a unique innovation culture beyond this, with Hollywood, the Route 128 Corridor, Silicon Alley, Research Triangle Park, and countless other founts of progress. When any city or country outside the US looks to emulate an innovation hub, they look to the US and Silicon Valley.
Effective national security
This is a tough one in the wake of the San Bernardino and Orlando shootings and the Dallas and Baton Rouge police killings, but the simple truth is that the FBI, NSA, CIA and other intelligence and police forces have done an amazing job since 9/11 of protecting the US. While we benefit from two oceans, two neighbors, the fact that there have been no mass terror attacks whether foreign or homegrown in the past 15 years is a testament to our national security apparatus. One can rightly argue that civil liberties have been impinged, police forces have militarized and guns are causing major societal issues, but by and large we are safe. Contrast that with Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India. My heart goes out to the victims of terrorism everywhere in the world. I also doff my proverbial hat to the women and men that have kept the US people by and large out of harm’s way.
A still dynamic economy (relatively)
I know this won’t be popular but the US economy is doing pretty well – relatively. While we have not had the uptick in middle class jobs that we would like and we certainly are not in a bull economy, we are churning out solid growth and solid jobs numbers. I’ve written before on needing to do more to address the changing nature of the workforce to provide a stronger path to the middle class and beyond, but compared to most industrialized economies we are doing well. Switzerland and Japan are mired in sub 1% growth and the EU’s leading economies are sub 2%. The US is in the low 2% range, only slightly better – but it is better and that is what matters.
The ability to fail
The US remains by far the best place to fail. From a cultural standpoint it is a badge of honor to fail as a startup in the US, versus many countries where it a source of shame. From a legal standpoint, the bankruptcy code in the US protects entrepreneurs much better than in other countries where it is common for corporate bankruptcy to have recourse to personal assets for the life of the individual. Think of that – you start a company, it fails, you spend the rest of your life paying off that failure. Moreover, if you file Chapter 11 in the US you can propose reorganization and become an ongoing concern again. In many countries the company is turned over to secured creditors who generally will then liquidate any assets rather than try to reorganize. If you’re a startup in Berlin, that is what you face. In Silicon Alley or Route 128 you don’t have to worry about it.
Diversity of race, religion and opinion
It has been a tough few week with police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge, continued protests against the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and backlash against transgender laws and regulations. However, for a population that is as diverse as the US is, we still have an ability to express ourselves and be ourselves to an amazing degree. We have a ways to go and I unfortunately believe things may get worse before they get better, but we are free to live our lives how we want to, where we want to, and with who we want to, which is still an uncommon situation in this world.
Higher education
Having lived in Europe and Asia, I can attest to the fact that there are very good universities outside of the US. Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, Tsinghua and Fudan in China, Science Po in France, ETH in Switzerland, just to name a few. However, the US is unparalleled, particularly for graduate programs. The depth and breadth of higher education in this country turns out world beaters in technology, finance, the arts, media, and science. Even the UK’s Times of London, which tends to be more UK centric, has 26 of the top 50 global universities situated in the US. Another datapoint: fully 257 of the 573 Nobel Prizes ever awarded were to leaders born in the US. This does not even count those that emigrated to the US and studied and worked here.
Upward mobility (still)
Ok, so I am not trying to be unpopular – the US is at its worst inequality ever according to some measures. Nigeria is more equal than the US is, even with endemic corruption. The US upper class has more income (49%) than the middle class (43%) for the first time ever. Young adults are trapped with debt loads and degrees that do not give them the clear path to the middle class that their parents enjoyed. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have tapped into the current angst during the election cycle. Upward mobility is definitely not what it once was, but it is still there.
Work hard, be entrepreneurial, add a bit of luck to be sure, and you can make it in the US. Every country has its path to upward mobility and emerging markets notably have even more opportunity in some ways, but the combination of our innovation culture, the ability to fal, strong higher education and a solid if not strong economy provides a foundation to start and grow successful careers and improve one’s fortunes. Not everyone can be Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Craig Venter, but few countries offer the chances to succeed that the US does.
Personal equality may be getting better
Again, a challenging topic. We are in the midst of some of the worst civil strife in the US since the 1970s. But the cause of this strife is that society is (finally) starting to change for the better and be more inclusive. Gay rights, transgender rights, better opportunities for minorities – these are all major changes in the past 10 years. They certainly have caused and will continue to cause social challenges, but at least we are talking about them and moving in the right direction. We need to stop resorting to hatred and arms to discuss our differences, but I am confident we will get there. We’ve done so in the past and we will again.
Our core governing documents: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
The United States is at yet another crossroad’s as its international stature is in question, its economy is in solid but slow growth and its population faces new societal stresses. In many ways it will be a rocky road in the immediate future. Nevertheless, I remain an optimist – the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution created and continue to guide a unique country, not without fault, but indisputably a nation with incredible potential, past and future.
This post was originally published on EdSappin.com