Reuters reports that a new global survey has found that the United States is the most admired country in the world. The U.S. nabbed the top spot of this year’s National Brand Index (NBI), which ranks countries by how admired they are globally, up from number seven last year:
The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll. It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index [NBI]. “What’s really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009,” said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.When asked about why he believes the United States shot up to the top of the list, Anholt explained that it likely is because of the election of Barack Obama. “There is no other explanation,” he said.
One could spin this report in a Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly way if you wanted to [If they read it, I expect they will do just that] – "rock star" comments or jokes about France because they had the good sense to avoid the Iraq War. But, to me, there’s another meaning. It’s not about Obama’s persona. It’s about the loud rejection of the nasty thread that seeped into our political landscape in 2000. It wasn’t just the corner bully Bush Doctrine. It was an erosion of the integrity that sits under our superficially contentious way of doing business in Washington. In my lifetime, we’ve done some wonderful things. The way we conducted ourselves in World War II comes to mind. Electing a Catholic President was a landmark at the time. Righting a terrible wrong with the Civil Rights Movement was a crowning moment. Getting rid of Dick Nixon was a powerful statement.
Then, we jumped off of a cliff in 2000. We became religiously intolerant, pugilistic, expansionist. We started a War on fictitious grounds. We let a great city of our own drown. The American demeanor changed – became more like ancient Rome than ancient Athens. But now, in spite of a bunch of problems that are huge, and against a continuing tide of conservatism, we seem to be clawing our way back to where we belong – as a beacon for the world that in spite of our diversity and size, we’re still in the game that got started with "all men are created equal." We may not be there, but at least we’re back to trying.
I hope that’s what the survey means…
Studies of holocaust survivors aimed at understanding what response capacities distinguish those who went on to live “successful” lives, i.e. adaptive adjustment, creating their own families, making a living, achieving, versus those who did not recover from the horrors of their experience so well, have determined that “Sense of Coherence” and “Hope” are essential differentiators. Hope is the four letter word that accompanied the widely disseminated Obama poster and Sense of Coherence could be applied to virtually every message POTUS has delivered since taking office. People respond to Hope…moreover the US has more positive historical capital as a haven of liberty and human potential than any other corner on the planet. Yes, we ARE back to trying. Keep on truckin Barack.
I agree. I think that the fact that we elected Obama is the real answer, not just the star power of Obama. We have begun to show the world that we could stop the madness we had sunk into. Let’s hope all the Republican craziness and circus is the last gasp of a dying beast.
Mankind has been struggling with this kind of “beast” for a very long time. I think we have lived in denial that such people can reach positions of power in our thoroughly modern country. We relegate them to Dan Brown’s Novels or the caves of the Dungeons and Dragons spin-off games. Well, so much for that naive idea. The world must need real beasts to raise their ugly heads periodically to remind us of the power of the ‘Dark Side’ of the moon.
Consider me reminded…