The United States has a marketing problem.
You see, for DECADES, we said we were the greatest country in the world. And we were so good at marketing that idea that everyone else thought that too.
The American Dream.
Freedom.
2.5 Kids and a White Picket Fence.
Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps.
You Can Be Anything You Want Here.
I'm not quite sure when the facade slipped—if you live & grew up in another country, I'd actually love if you responded to this email and let me know.
But ever since at least the mid-2010's (or, ever since I moved to New York City and was regularly exposed to Europeans and Australians and Canadians and Puerto Ricans and lots of other people), I learned that many other countries don't put us on the pedestal we grew up on.
Now, you gotta hand it to us Americans. We sure know how to market this place. But the disconnect is that we don't often live up to our incredible marketing here.
(If you've ever purchased something off an Instagram ad with stunning photos and amazing reviews, only to receive it in the mail and find it defective or damaged, it's like that. Only, a whole ass country.)
Quick note: It wouldn't feel right of me to lead this week's newsletter with only pessimism. Surely, our country offers so many things that many other countries would kill to have. We are privileged in many ways.
But it also wouldn't feel right of me to send a “Happy Fourth of July!” newsletter without acknowledging that we've marketed a dream life that we never lived up to. Our values have never aligned with our branding, and that has (rightfully) turned many folks off.
So, whether you are celebrating the nuances today or not, I hope you get to at least enjoy an ice cream cone and a day off. We've surely all earned it.
