"Restoring America’s Image" by Myster E

I grew up in the fifties in Athens, Greece. I remember, while in grade school, we were given a slice of orange cheese every day from a box that said: “USA-Aid." It was part of the Marshall Plan for post-WWII Greece.

My mother grew up in a small village on an island in the Ionian Sea. The conditions there and then were worse than poor. My grandfather had less than an acre of land to support a family of 13. Although my mother and all her siblings ended up in Athens, becoming successful entrepreneurs, this could not have happened without my grandmother’s brother. He had emigrated to the US as a young man and was able to send a stipend to his sister every month.

I lived in Smith Center, Kansas for about 30 years. I remember visiting the Smith County Memorial Hospital time and time again and reading the names of several Smith County boys who were killed during WW II in a field in Europe or on an island in the Pacific.

These three short stories have something in common. They reflect the role the US has played in the world for at least the last hundred years. America has been the refuge for millions of poor and persecuted from every corner of the earth. America has shared its wealth with needy people around the world. America has been the beacon of freedom and democracy. Last but not least, American military power has been a safeguard for stability and peace around the globe.

I visited Greece and Cyprus this past summer (2017) and listened to several European networks. One thing that impressed me sadly was that the image of America has been tarnished. People who were looking for an excuse to attack our country, now they found it. Most Europeans do not see the US as they used to. They see a country that is becoming more self-centered and isolationist. They see the undisputed superpower renege its commitments for world stability and peace. They see the richest country on earth deciding to ignore some of its obligations to care for the environment.

I wonder how much of this is true. Has one man’s slogans changed the American egalitarian spirit? I do not believe so.  I do believe that most people in this country still maintain their high values. We are still the country that is the envy of the world. Our economy is still the best among major industrial countries. Our universities are still a dream for most young people everywhere. We are still the leaders in science, technology, and culture.

Because we are a big part of the earth’s community, what we stand for should be good for the world. America’s image must be restored. This is a responsibility for each one of us as Americans. The whole world is still watching us.

                                                                                --- Elder Myster E  

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