Eleven score and 16 years ago we became a nation. A country was born out of the idea that a free people was worth fighting for. America hasn’t always fought for those ideals, it has fallen short many times, but that was still its ideal, and still can be. America has made a difference, a quite large one, and one worth remembering.
So, America’s had an effect, why would anyone care? Other countries have had an effect, England has had an effect, China has had an effect, and Russia has had an effect. Why is America special? To put it simply, America’s effect has completely changed nearly every country’s form of government in some way or another.
To put some statistics to this, over 150 countries have formed themselves into a republic since America has. While more than a few of these countries are rife with corruption and don’t act much like a republic at all, they still operate under that name for a simple reason; their people want hope and a republic gives that to them. For many of these corrupt countries, their evils are limited simply due to the fact that an election will take place and the people do not want a tyrant as a ruler.
Sure many of these people have rigged elections and tried pulling the wool over their people’s eyes but they have failed to do so for the countless countries that are living up to their duties as a republic. And for that reason, being part of a republic acts at least in part, as a shield for its people, even if that shield is their rulers pretending to be just and merciful.
America has had a larger influence, however, than just the spread of republics. Among other things, it provides defense to its 72 allies. Think about that, 72 countries that can sleep in safety knowing that they’re defended by the country that nearly triples (2.979 times) the next closest country. In short, if you feel safe in most countries, you have the USA in large part to thank for that.
The United States of America also provided 15.4 billion dollars to humanitarian aid in 2023. To put that in perspective the average home in the State of Utah is 500k, the USA provided so much aid to the world that it could have made the equivalent of 30,430 brand new homes.
In short, while America has been far from perfect, and has done some quite horrible things, and should be rightly called out for them, it has also made the world a significantly better place. And yes, while we should fight to improve it, and we shouldn’t ignore its sins, we shouldn’t deny its virtues. And while we might argue over things like the defense budget amount, or international politics, the USA is still providing those things to the world. Maybe not perfectly efficiently, maybe not how you’d like, but it has made the world a safer and better place.