A prominent aspect of American life is individualism: the belief that everyone is an individual rather than part of a collective, and should prioritize themselves first and everyone else second. This sort of sentiment of “America First” is destructive for us Americans.
This attitude has labeled Americans as selfish, ignorant of the world around them and unable to empathize with those who have it worse than they do. And these hyper-individualistic ideas have laid dormant for some time, but have now been pushed to the forefront – coming directly from the Oval Office.
“America First” is a key part of the official stance of the new administration and while this is an effective campaign tool, it does not always foster the best circumstances for a nation to thrive.
The belief that the United States should prioritize American citizens is not an outlandish one, in fact, it is probably one of the more unifying beliefs that those all across the political spectrum could agree on. The real issue is when the official stance becomes “America First” at the expense of the rest of the world.
In the past month, the U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement once again and for the first time ever, withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Whether or not you agree with the withdrawals is a non-factor, as the precedent that it establishes is of more concern than the withdrawals themselves.
The idea that the U.S. is somehow separate from the rest of the world and unconcerned with maintaining good relationships with allies is a direct result of hyper-individualism, the prevailing sentiment that America functions as a lone entity on the world stage rather than part of a larger collective.
These beliefs stem from a variety of factors, one being the notion that the United States spends far too much money on foreign aid.
A recent poll from the Associated Press found that roughly 7 in 10 U.S. adults say the government is putting too much money toward assistance to other countries.
This is understandable when you learn that, on average, opinion polling shows that Americans believe foreign aid makes up around 25% of the entire federal budget.
The reality however is that foreign aid makes up less than 1% of the federal budget.
This focus on cutting federal funding on the basis that the funds go to other countries does not just affect those countries, but America as well.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and leader Elon Musk have recently revealed plans to cut the staffing of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 14,000 employees to fewer than 300.
USAID is an agency that provides humanitarian aid and development assistance in over 100 countries that have been described as the world’s single largest humanitarian donor. This spending has been deemed wasteful by key members of the new administration, including Musk, who deflect criticism by claiming to prioritize “America First.”
USAID is involved with disease prevention around the globe and as its decimation coincides with our removal from the WHO, America may very well be on its own during a potential pandemic or similar health emergency.
Individualism is a fine belief system when things are going well, but when times are hard, it is necessary to have others to lean on. By isolating ourselves on the world stage, we lay the foundation for future struggle and further isolation in our own communities that will be a net negative for us all.
But of course, that’s just one man’s opinion.
Categories: Opinion
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