With the Olympics nearing conclusion, I was listening to a report of the medal tally by country. The commentator mentioned that Canada had the highest gold medal count, but was quick to add, almost clumsily and apologestically, that the US still had the highest overall number of medals. The obvious inference was, “good for Canada, but we’re still better”.
What if America were less than the best? If one morning we awoke to discover there was another “super power” usurping our position as world watchdog, or similarly, we found ourselves on an equal military footing with other nations, could we handle it?
Let’s suppose we didn’t win the most Olympic medals, or that our economy wasn’t the largest on earth. Imagine, for a moment, that there were other economies just as productive as ours, equal or better standards of living in other places, and healthcare of equivalent quality but cheaper.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but let’s imagine a day when our children weren’t the worlds smartest and our system of education merely comparable to others. It would follow then that our scientists and researchers would have equally capable peers in other countries, that the arts could flourish just as well in other lands and that literature would thrive in languages other than ours.
What would we do and how would we react if we discovered we weren’t the best at everything? Do we have the fortitude and inner strength it takes to sustain our national pride from anywhere other than first place? Do we have enough trust and confidence in one another’s effort and commitment to face a world in which America isn’t number one?
I sometimes wonder if we aren’t still, in some subliminal way, tied to our Pilgrim roots. Our country was founded on pursuit of a better life, on more freedoms, on establishing the new and different. Could this legacy have destined our national psyche to measure failure as anything less than being the best? Can we acknowledge, respect and share in the success of others, or do their achievements make us uneasy and uncomfortable? It may be time to face the reality that in many areas there are others just as good, that life in today’s world isn’t just counting the number of medals we’ve won, and that America has no hegemony on success. Being the best at anything is a human opportunity, not the entitlement of a particular nation.
Measuring success only in terms of being the “best” is a zero-sum game: it’s a costly, unending pursuit that feeds paranoia and distrust more than it achieves results . As other countries emerge and the world order changes, America must demonstrate the leadership to acknowledge that “best efforts” can be just as rewarding and valuable as being the “best”, and that success can also be defined as the ability and self-confidence to fully appreciate what has already been accomplished. Understanding when we have “enough” can be more fulfilling than the endless pursuit for more.
Acknowledging satisfaction with our accomplishments isn’t complacency or failure; it’s maturity as a nation and an example of greatness. Our adolescent quest for bigger, better, faster and more must be replaced by responsible adulthood that places greater value on harmony and responsibility. In setting this example America’s greatest and most successful era as a nation is yet to be lived.
