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Make America Optimistic Again

There once was a period where Americans were looking forward towards the future through rose-colored glasses. Where we were all working towards the same goal, the betterment of not only our own lives, but that of the overall country. There is a brilliant Spanish-American philosopher by the name of George Santanya who detailed in his book, published in 1920, Character and Opinion in the United States, how “in America there is a tacit optimistic assumption about existence, to the effect that the more existence the better” Of course people would read this nowadays and simply dismiss it as a different era in America. Does it really need to be a different era though? Can optimism still not be found and used as a tool for change within modern day society? Santanya depicts how optimism was actually bred into the bone of America. That there is an unimaginative optimistic assumption that at bottom all people’s interests are similar and compatible and a rather heroic public spirit. He goes on to exclaim how in America, these conditions, these are assumptions, have been actually fulfilled. Exploiting business and opportunities and organizing public services were done to the benefit and usefulness to all. That neighbors were seen as a resource rather than a danger. That to “abolish millionaires would have been to dash one’s own hopes.”. Americans used to look up towards goals and truly believe that they could reach any goal that they set. They didn't try to bring people down or view each other as competitors. Santanyana depicts this sentiment perfectly when he writes how in America during this time, “A neighbour, even a competitor, where the field is so large and so little preempted, has more often proved a resource than a danger.” It was a nation united under one common hope, hope for a better future. This belief was instilled into the American people by the nation’s leaders.

There was another, extremely influential person, living at the exact same time as Santayana who also believed in American optimism and had hopes for the next generation, President Theordore Roosevelt himself. Roosevelt spoke often about the hopes and aspirations he had for the country and the American people. During his “Citizenship in a Republic” speech in which he gave in 1910 where he addressed the Sorbonne in Paris, France, he exclaims how “With you here, and with us in my own home, in the long run, success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average women, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call for heroic virtues.” The idea that the success or failure of the country rests on the common man and woman is a fundamental idea in which the United States was created. It is a concept that may have been lost in recent decades, with mistrust of the government growing and a greater importance placed upon individualism, it feels like now everyone is just in it for themselves. This idea that has plagued modern American society, the idea of being in it for yourself, is the antithesis of what President Roosevelt had envisioned for America. He envisioned the American people standing side by side one another, helping each other. He brilliantly exclaimed how “But if a man’s efficiency is not guided and regulated by a moral sense, then the more efficient he is the worse he is, the more dangerous to the body politic. Courage, intellect, all the masterful qualities, serve but to make a man more evil if they are merely used for that man’s own advancement, with brutal indifference to the rights of others.” American society has been corrupted by greed and individualism and materialism all of which are the antithesis of the foundation of the country. Yes, it has always been a country where anyone could achieve anything they ever wanted, the American dream. But it was never my dream at the expense of yours. Though there might have been some exceptions along the way in certain President’s values, the belief of working together so we can all achieve our dreams is echoed in the words of Roosevelt. We must remember President Roosevelt’s sentiment in which he expresses during his Presidential Address in 1903 at the Grand Canyon; “We have gotten past the stage, my fellow citizens, when we are to be pardoned if we simply treat any part of our country as something to be skinned for two or three years for the use of the present generation. Whether it is the forest, the water, the scenery, whatever it is, handle it so that your children's children will get the benefit of it. Handle it that way.” America needs to find its optimism again. Where we all viewed the future of the country in a hopeful manner, and worked together to ensure that the country would be left better than how we found it for our kids, and our kid’s kids. A country united on the belief of a better future, a better future for yourself, for your neighbor, and for the country.

Santayana, George. Character and opinion in the United States. New York: Scribner, 1937. 102

“Address at the Sorbonne in Paris, France: ‘Citizenship in a Republic.’” Address at the Sorbonne in Paris, France: “Citizenship in a Republic” | The American Presidency Project, April 23, 1910. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-sorbonne-paris-france-citizenship-republic. 

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/teddyrooseveltgrandcanyon.htm