*Disclaimer: The following post is from my personal experience, observations and direct contact with all countries and cultures mentioned. This will also be my last US political post for a while.

The US election has been churning around in my head for the last few weeks, mainly after hearing the Presidential and VP candidate’s speeches at the DNC and RNC on youtube (I wasn’t willing to stay up till 3am to hear it live.) This has caused many thoughts and observations from me. Now, I have to say this first, I have many great American friends and I do like America (just not the current government). But not being an American has allowed me to see pass the intense patriotism (which is good, also can be bad sometimes) and put the current situation in context.

As a citizen of the world, I’ve seen the damage that the current US administration has done not only internally, but internationally. While Bill Clinton wasn’t a very moral man, he was a good politician and economist. He built strong relationships with other countries, he showed us respect, he listened. He cut the US debt by a huge margin and the US economy blossomed.

Than came Bush. And everything Clinton did was blown to the sky over the last 8 years. To say that America has lost its standing in the world is a major understatement. America is no more the economic and political giant and power that it once was. Countries “show face” and pretend to listen to an US official speaking… than they just chuck the “advice” in a corner and go on their merry way.

To me, that’s very sad. I actually would rather have US as a superpower than China (which seems to be the only viable option right now). As a superpower, Americans are compassionate, and are willing to help others. If atrocities get brought up in the public eye, they are willing to do all it takes to resolve it.

Many Chinese from China, on the other hand, have become selfish, money-minded and will do all it takes to obtain wealth. Most have lost the traditional morals and values, and failed to pick up any others. This has created a lost of integrity, morality and ethics. (One good point though is that they are very hardworking because they want to earn as much as possible.)

Now as a superpower, I would obviously rather have the US. But the sad truth is this, as much as promises are made on the political trail and the fervent hopes of many, the USA will probably never once again go back to the height of its glory days. Yes, things may improve (I do hope they will), but the past glory is just that.. the past. I’ve always encouraged my friends from college to look beyond the US, because it’s no more enough to just stay in the country and not care about the world outside. The opportunities in the US are decreasing rapidly while there are vast opportunities in the world. The willingness to step out of one’s boundaries and one’s culture and explore the globe is such a precious thing and is increasingly becoming a necessary thing to survive and truly grow.

I guess by saying all these, a few readers and friends will probably get angry. And that’s okay. I admire their belief in and love for their country. But please take this as the honest truth from someone looking in, someone who has had to see the consequences of US foreign policy firsthand. The main reason why I’m willing to take this chance of offending someone (and a lot of my readers are from the US, so it is scary) is because I do have great friends from the US. And being open and honest about the current reality is my way of helping to put things in context, to open their minds past what the US media and politicians say.

This is my last US political post, at least until the election is over and probably even not after that. Offending anyone is never my intention with these posts, and as it’s a sensitive issue to many, and since I’m not a US citizen and should just shut my mouth, I decided to finally zip it on this topic.