Over many centuries, the United States has prided itself for the number of freedoms and liberties it has provided to its citizens. While the nuances of this argument belong to an entirely different discussion altogether, what I want to draw your attention to are the circumstances we, as a nation, are finding ourselves in.

For over three decades after the end of the Cold War, the United States had a near-complete dominance over the economics, politics and consequently the culture of the entire planet. Beyond the relentless spread of corporations and Hollywood movies over the world, the ideals and principles that were conceived in the United States were exported throughout the world, viewed as central to the essence of human existence and political development. Freedom of expression, religion, identity and the freedom to choose one’s own destiny were the ideals that this nation saw as the resilient bedrock on which its national spirit stood. These ideas spread across the world first through the actions of its military in wars and conflicts, but as time progressed, the social and political culture that is taken for granted here today continued to spread via press, advertisement and media. This, in essence, is how we ended up with a world where Hollywood leads cinema, Wall Street leads the stock market and Washington decides politics across the entire planet.

Today, however, from the point in time and place where I stand, what I observe with not just what I read from the news but what I also witness with my own senses is that this particular notion is going through a “great trial.” The 9/11 attacks, the 2008 recession, the refugee crises of the 2010’s, COVID-19 and every political scandal, event and disaster that occurred in between all these events sowed not merely disapproval but outright “distrust” in the government. As a result, we have become a nation that barely believes in its own government, according to the statistics available to us.

In the meantime, the troubles we went through throughout these years gave justification to the leaders of many nations to restrict the freedoms we stood for in the first place. The acts that were passed in the wake of the great disasters this nation suffered, most notably the Patriot Act, dealt a serious blow to the security of our individual lives and technology, especially in our modern world where technology itself is such a crucial part of our lives. The biases and the untrustworthiness of the media itself also contributed to radicalization and division, as we saw greater parts of this country looking to their fellow countrymen as rivals, even as enemies based on nothing but political biases and feelings which were generated from agitation and demagogy.

It is easy to comment on these developments as the natural way things are in politics. From a cynical point of view, there wasn’t really a time when our liberties were not under threat. However, my observation about the ways in which things are simultaneously developing around the world is that the change we are witnessing is of a new breed. We see this when we observe the most recent developments in Europe, as an example. The connection between this nation and its allies across the ocean means that any significant change that occurs over there has a good chance of influencing our own politics in this country. And frankly, the developments are quite significant.

In Germany, the authority of the long-standing political strength of the traditional parties are being challenged by the meteoric rise of the far-right AfD, whereas France is similarly going through a political shift that can cause it to slide further away from the liberalist ideals it supports today

What I understand from these changes is that stagnation and incompetence have led people to distrust their own governments and seek new ways — ways that are much less keen on preserving the rights of their people. I see the way in which politics has been restricted over many generations to only a couple parties in this country specifically as the greatest problem we need to overcome. A democracy can only sustain itself and flourish when more and more voices are heard at once. If we are to develop as a democracy, our only way of resisting both stagnation and the radicalization that comes as a result at the same time is for reason and logic to prevail through inclusivity, not division or polarization.

This country has lived comfortably for many decades by enjoying its rights and privileges, and in the meantime, its people ignored the changes that occurred beyond its borders. What we must understand today is that we might just as easily lose them under the circumstances many already have around the world. A definitive change in how politics function in this country — no matter how naive and impossible it may seem — is the way I see fit for this republic to adapt to the changing world.

Deniz Gulay is a freshman majoring in history.