Is it ironic or just interesting that the country we broke up with in 1776 is pretty much our only BFF in the world?
The Declaration of Independence is basically just a really long list of things we didn’t like about the way the King was doing his job. Later on, the Founding Fathers wrote up a list of rules that essentially said, “We’re not going to do it like he does…ever.” I wonder if Jefferson et al would be pleased by the way we are behaving these days.
But, people continue trying to get in so there must remain some vestiges of still better than everywhere else. I think there is one important illustration of that — Elon Musk didn’t come here in the time of Tesla and Edison or even the Reagan years. He showed up in 1995, so apparently, America’s still got it.
Whether you like him or not (did you know you have him to thank for PayPal?), it is well-known he came to America to have his pick of many top-tier education institutions. He and his 50-pound brain could have chosen anywhere in the world to live and work and create things. He chose the United States because there is a lot about America that some Americans are too busy fussing about politics and special interests to notice any more.
Although Elon only attended Stanford for two days, he also recognized this country has always had a great love of entrepreneurs and innovation, and a ton of people who get up in the morning to take risks. Those are the same people who provide resources and funding for startups, and you don’t have to be Elon to get help from them. America doesn’t care who you are or where you came from. You just have to have a good idea that solves problems for people. That helps explain how, after quitting his doctoral program, Elon was able to create a product, market it across the nation, and sell it for $307 million in less than four years.
Also, he knew America has nearly always been in first place for advancement and innovation. Americans did build the first practical airplane, so we didn’t have to end WWII by boat. The freedom to work and invent in America continues to attract brilliant minds and has always been a petri dish for smart ideas. Telephones, alternating current, Internet, GPS, MRIs, the assembly line… you’re welcome, planet Earth.
The U.S. financial system is also known globally for its depth and access to capital. Even if you have a problem with income gaps and wage disparity, you can’t deny America has built an economy that enables people to earn enough money to give some away to help the next guy or girl grow something that earns enough money to facilitate giving some away to help the next person, and so on.
We also have 330 million residents who love to shop and acquire things. Perhaps not something to be proud of, but the idea that our economy is, or could be built on retail, means we have long since passed survival and have moved on to entertainment and comfort. We have a whole city just for making movies, and people around the world love to joke about our comically large food portions without pointing out that, like many other American things that are over the top — we do it because we can.
Musk also assumed his ambitious ventures, like SpaceX and Tesla, would have a greater chance of success and growth in a country with a consumer base like ours. And don’t forget, we are still able to shop that much after we pay a lot of taxes, some of which contribute to the $50 billion our government also gives away every year to help whole other countries. Pretty nice of us, I think.
As well, Musk’s personal interest in space exploration inspired his private space companies and America has always killed it in space exploration. Sure, our missiles and Mercury programs were born from the 50-pound brains of German scientists but at least we had the foresight, resources, and temerity to put them to work rather than sending them to gulags. And today we are, in fact, the only nation with a car on the moon so where else could Elon reasonably go? Is there anything more American than traveling 245,000 miles—straight up—and asking, “Should we go for a drive when we get there?”
While probably not reasons Musk moved here, we are also still the country of the Empire State Building, Las Vegas, Mount Rushmore, Michael Jordan, Hoover Dam, and James T. Kirk. What other place on earth could simultaneously produce and nurture an Elvis Presley and a Walt Disney (the creative genius, not the ultra-woke park in Florida)?
I’m glad people like Elon agree America is great.