America, who are you?

As a man who grew up the 70’s and 80’s, I remember when America was always the adult in the room. Not perfect, but dependable. Back then, we all had a sense that when push came to shove, the United States would lean toward what was ethical, just and fair.

The US of  yesteryears carried itself with gravitas, the kind that comes not just from power, but from responsibility. You didn’t always agree with it, but you trusted that it  understood the weight of its role.

America was, in many ways, a generous nation. It shared its prosperity, opened its markets and created opportunities not just for its own people, but for others around the world. Immigration was not treated as a threat but as a source of strength. America, at its best, believed that prosperity was something to be shared.

Having the world’s largest economy, the US  could have easily dictated one-sided terms. Instead, it built a system where trade flowed freely and where investments and technologies crossed borders. Yes, the rules often leaned to its favor – but there was still an effort to bring others along. There was an understanding that a rising tide, if managed properly, could lift more than just one boat.

More than anything, America was the architect of the rules-based international order. It believed in institutions, treaties and agreements that created structure in an otherwise unequal world. For smaller and weaker nations, this mattered. It meant that power alone did not always determine outcomes. There were rules and processes. There was justice, at least in principle.

America too was a fervent defender of democracy. When democratic ideals were under threat, America showed up with all its resources. It stood as a counterweight to authoritarianism and communism, a signal that freedom and representation were worth protecting.

There was also something deeply admirable about the American work ethic. Industrial titans like Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford championed breakthroughs in industrial processes, science and technology. America was a place that built things well.

And then there was its soft power – the intangible influence that made the rest of the world watch, listen and follow. From Hollywood to New York, from film to music, America didn’t just export products – it exported dreams. To many of us, it represented possibility.

Perhaps I am biased. I was raised by an American educational system that reinforced these ideals. But bias alone does not explain the broader sentiment. There truly was a time when America felt like a generous big brother – strong, confident and, more often than not, well-intentioned.

America, today

Many argue that Donald Trump brought out the worst in America. But that explanation is too easy. It suggests that the problem began with him. The truth is less convenient. Trump did not create today’s version of America. Rather, America created Trump.

As Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek aptly put it, America is not the way it is because of Trump; Trump is the way he is because of America. Trump is a product and culmination of values that have been shifting gradually but unmistakably among the American people.

The country that once championed a rules-based order now bends those very rules when they become inconvenient. Agreements are no longer commitments – they are options.

The nation that once stood as a defender of democracy now struggles to uphold it within its own borders. Institutions are questioned. Processes are contested. The truth is shamelessly covered up. The very principles that America once promoted abroad are now under strain in its own land.

The loudest advocate of free trade has turned protectionist. Tariffs, economic nationalism and transactional diplomacy have replaced the broader vision of shared prosperity.

There has also been a shift in character.

Where there was once generosity, there is now a more pronounced self-interest. “America First” has evolved into the country’s worldview – one that prioritizes immediate gain over long-term leadership. And it does so with incredible hubris.

The culture of excellence, once rooted in innovation and hard work, has been overshadowed by the pursuit of quick profits. Financial wins are celebrated, even when they come at the expense of substance. No surprise, America’s dominance in innovation – while still formidable – is no longer absolute.

Corruption has hollowed out America’s institutions, unraveling the cohesion that once bound the system together. As a result, America’s very foundations have weakened.

But perhaps the most troubling change is not economic or political – it is moral.

America today is increasingly seen as unpredictable and unreliable. Where trust once existed, there is now trepidation and a sense of skepticism.

Race, identity and inequality have surged back into the spotlight, making one thing clear: these problems were never resolved. Bigotry simply laid latent all these decades.

On the global stage, America is no longer viewed as a stabilizing force. It is now seen as a source of disruption, chaos and war. And so, its soft power has diminished. The admiration has faded. The influence, while still present, is no longer unquestioned and even challenged.

It is difficult to reconcile the America we remember with the America we see today. The big brother we once trusted is now unrecognizable. And so we ask with earnest reflection: America, who are you?

Are you still the nation that believed in fairness, in shared prosperity, in the idea that leadership comes with responsibility? Are you still the defender of democracy, the engine of innovation, the symbol of opportunity?

Or have you become something more insular, more transactional, more self-centered, more lawless?

If it is the latter, your days as the world’s big brother and/or adult in the room are surely numbered. The world will naturally gravitate to the nation/s that prove more benevolent, cooperative and just.

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E-mail: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan