AI Says...
For much of the 20th century, the United States exercised a form of influence unparalleled in modern history. Its power did not rest solely on military strength or economic dominance, but on something far more subtle and potent: the ability to make the world dream. Through Hollywood, music, technology, universities, the pioneer spirit, and constant innovation, America came to feel as though it belonged to everyone—or at least to those who had not turned it into a sworn enemy, a geopolitical “Satan.”
This emotional, cultural, and symbolic bond allowed the United States to dominate without always coercing. This was the era of soft power.
Hollywood, Music, Tech: When America Became Universal
American cinema imposed global narratives: the individual hero, success through effort, freedom versus oppression. Television series and later streaming platforms spread lifestyles, language, and social codes recognizable across continents.
Music—from jazz to hip-hop, from rock to pop—became the soundtrack of multiple generations worldwide. Often, it proved more influential than any diplomatic speech.
Technology completed America’s globalization. Digital giants structured the internet, communication, commerce, and access to knowledge. American universities attracted global elites, forging lasting transnational networks. The dollar, technological standards, and English as a global language reinforced this centrality.
The United States did not merely dominate: it was desired.
A Paradoxical Attachment Built on Collective Amnesia
Yet this global sense of belonging should never have seemed so natural. It rested on a deep historical amnesia.
The construction of the United States began with the extermination and dispossession of Native American peoples. It continued with slavery, followed by institutionalized racial segregation that lasted well into the second half of the 20th century.
Abroad, the promotion of freedom was quickly paired with domination.The Monroe Doctrine legitimized interference throughout Latin America; the Cold War justified coups and tolerated dictatorships; Operation Condor coordinated political repression by South American authoritarian regimes with Washington’s backing.
As long as soft power worked, these realities remained secondary in the global imagination.
Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan: When the Myth Cracks
Some wars, however, made the illusion impossible to sustain.
In Vietnam, the first fully televised war, the world witnessed an America capable of mass destruction, the use of napalm and chemical weapons, and—most critically—defeat. The myth of moral and military invincibility collapsed, along with America’s internal cohesion.
Iraq, in 2003, marked an even deeper moral collapse. A war launched on proven lies led to the destruction of a state, regional chaos, and enduring violence. The images from Abu Ghraib engraved the idea of an irreconcilable gap between American rhetoric and practice.
Afghanistan closed the cycle. Twenty years of war, trillions of dollars spent, ending in a sudden and humiliating collapse. Kabul in 2021 became the symbol of a superpower technologically supreme yet politically incapable of building a sustainable order.
These conflicts did not only destroy countries:they consumed America’s symbolic capital.
Israel: Unconditional Support as a Global Moral Rupture
To these wars must be added another powerful factor of delegitimization: unconditional U.S. support for Israel, particularly under governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite:
prolonged occupation,
ongoing settlement expansion in violation of international law,
repeated military operations causing massive civilian harm,
growing accusations of war crimes and systemic human rights violations,
Washington continues to provide near-automatic military, diplomatic, and financial backing, repeatedly blocking meaningful accountability on the international stage.
For much of the world—across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America—this stance is seen as the ultimate proof of America’s double standard.
Where the United States claims to defend international law and civilian lives elsewhere, it appears here as the guarantor of impunity for a strategic ally. This position has shattered what remained of America’s moral credibility on human rights.
The Internal Fracture: ICE and the End of the Liberal Narrative
The erosion of American soft power is not only external. It is also driven by highly visible internal transformations.
The actions of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), particularly since the Trump era, have shocked international opinion:
mass detentions,
family separations,
detention conditions condemned by NGOs,
systematic criminalization of migration.
These practices, widely broadcast, directly contradict the founding narrative of the United States as a nation of immigrants and a land of refuge.
To the world, America no longer looks like a sanctuary, but like a state governed by fear, exclusion, and control.
Donald Trump: The Moment the Rupture Became Explicit
If wars, Israel, and ICE weakened American soft power, Donald Trump marked its full acknowledgment.
For the first time, the United States appeared to explicitly renounce moral leadership:
rejection of multilateralism,
open contempt for alliances,
brutal, transactional rhetoric,
abandonment of any claim to universal values.
America no longer seeks to persuade. It pressures, threatens, or withdraws.
This is no longer a contradiction—it is a doctrine.
The End of “America for All”: Global Consequences
Europe: political distrust, strategic distancing, pursuit of autonomy.
Middle East: deep rejection, realignments, total loss of moral credibility.
Africa: diversification of partnerships, decline of U.S. influence.
Asia: rise of strategic alternatives, American soft power relativized.
Digital world: contestation of U.S. cultural and technological dominance.
Conclusion: A Cultural Empire Unraveling from Within
For decades, the United States belonged to the world because it embodied a promise—despite its foundational crimes.
But:
Vietnam revealed its limits,
Iraq destroyed its credibility,
Afghanistan exposed its strategic impotence,
unconditional support for Israel hollowed out its moral discourse,
ICE and internal repression shattered the liberal narrative,
and Donald Trump formalized the abandonment of universalism.
“America for all” is not ending because other powers are rising,but because the United States no longer seems willing to play that role.
The world is not witnessing the fall of a military empire,but the slow erasure of a symbolic one.
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