The Backbone of America - Two Centuries of Storms and Sunshine in the United States

Author: Beiwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: "As long as we can dream it, we can achieve it!" This is the declaration inscribed on the west gate of the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, and also the indelible mark in the hearts of every American citizen. For a full century, the United States has stood proud as a global superpower. In 1978, China and the United States reopened the door to bilateral relations. Today, the two countries are comprehensively establishing a constructive partnership in the 21st century. Without a doubt, the United States, as China's most important diplomatic counterpart globally, is the most prominent external force influencing China's economic development, national security, political stability, and national unity. On the other hand, the United States is also China's largest trading partner, engaging in close and frequent cooperation and exchange with China in fields such as education, science and technology, and culture. By the mid-1990s, the shadow of past American imperialism had already faded from the eyes of the Chinese people. Today, for many, the United States embodies three meanings—America in the realm of popular culture, a paradise for enjoying life, where Hollywood movies, the NBA, McDonald's, and KFC sweep across China's major cities with their unique charm; America in the realm of education and culture, the pinnacle of the ivory tower, where TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT have become hotly pursued goals for many Chinese, with over a hundred thousand Chinese students flocking to the United States, making it a dream destination for young Chinese; and America in the realm of politics and culture, a symbol of "freedom and democracy." In reality, America is simply America. The people of the United States, after over two hundred years of hardship and obstacles, have forged a unique national character and philosophy of survival. Today, Americans are no longer Europeans, even though they once were. Since the landing of the Mayflower in a place called Virginia, Americans have continuously distanced themselves from Europe. To seek a space for freedom, the Puritans and other small groups, regarded as heretics and dissenters by the British, voluntarily emigrated. In pursuit of their religious beliefs, they shaped the core concept of American culture—"freedom." The ideals of cultural freedom and religious pluralism gave Americans a courage they had never known before. These factors enabled them to establish a new nation on the basis of the "social contract" in 1776. The Declaration of Independence explicitly granted all American citizens the right to "pursue happiness," with no one excluded. Together with the U.S. Constitution that followed, it established the American system of capitalism and laid the foundation for American political culture. The flower of democracy from Europe bore rich fruit in the United States. After gaining independence, the United States began to shape itself, taking form through political integration during the Civil War. Subsequently, the United States, with its unrestrained capitalism, became a global economic superpower. Its rapid rise also demonstrated the pioneering spirit of the American nation, a trait deeply rooted in the hearts of Americans. In 1918, President Wilson entrusted the United States with the duty of promoting democracy and free trade: this kind of "democratic imperialism" has continued to push the United States toward today's "liberation of Iraq" war. The "melting pot" and the "mosaic" have also become characteristics of American national culture, reflecting the contradictions of fusion and conflict within it. Issues such as racial problems in American society, American-style chauvinism, and xenophobia can all be explained through this lens. American culture is the result of the continuous conflict and integration of diversity. Foreign cultures, whether introduced through immigration or other means, are not assimilated into American culture but remain distinct yet cohesive—this is the charm of American culture. Engels once remarked on his impression of the United States: "America is a new world, and 'new' here does not only refer to the time of its discovery but to all its institutions. This progressive nation, which experiments with every new proposal purely from its practical interests, implements it almost the next day if it is deemed good. In America, everything should be new, everything should be reasonable, and everything should be practical." Valuing science, education, and continuously advancing technological innovation have been powerful driving forces behind the United States' economic development. Its highly developed and sustained economy relies on the long-term stability of its political system. However, problems such as unequal distribution of social resources, racial discrimination, high crime rates, and drug abuse can also be traced back to the U.S. political system. The dispersion of political power in American society also ensures that while maintaining political stability, the country must undergo self-regulating mechanisms to achieve certain social changes, update laws and administrative regulations, and mitigate social tensions and conflicts. The U.S. leadership group and various strata of society engage in fierce debates over policy issues. Yet, the mainstream ideology of the United States maintains a high degree of consistency and continuity through these ideological clashes. The American nation is one with a strong sense of national identity and a deep love for their country. In the United States, any citizen can criticize any aspect of the country's system, culture, traditions, policies, or leaders, even with harsh criticism, which directly contributes to the of American hegemonic consciousness. Their hegemonic form is supported by military strength, but it also advances the export of goods and capital with one hand while promoting ideological expansion and religious-cultural infiltration with the other, complementing each other until today. Can the United States be considered a civilization? A leading or a lagging one? But there is no doubt about its enterprising spirit. Wherever we are, we can feel the real presence of the United States. In China today, we often consume American products, and this almost omnipresent, hard-to-refuse "American culture" both stirs our passion and leads us to deep reflection—when it comes to these American-made goods, we can only choose to like or dislike them, but we have no right to refuse. The measure of a nation's civilization—does not lie in how many dreams its children have had, but in how many of those dreams have been realized today. Whether it is the American Dream or the Chinese Dream, we believe that humanity's pursuit of happiness is the same. In light of this, we have planned and published the series "The Stormy Two Centuries of the United States" (including "What Did the War Give to America," "America's Redemption," "The American Spirit," "The Key to Truth," "Heaven, Hell, and Battlefield," "America, the Paradise of Men," "America, the Unforgettable Guilt," "The Backbone of America," "Life in the Left Hand, Faith in the Right," and "The Birth of a Superpower America"), with the aim of introducing a comprehensive picture of the United States from different perspectives. Everything about the United States has its own standards. We are not trying to flatter anyone; we merely wish to inspire our fellow countrymen with the idea that "a stone from the mountain can polish the jade."