Coming from Southeast Asia, where societal values have always been more conservative, I used to find America fascinating. Ah, the land of freedom and liberty — a nation made up of diverse cultures, where creativity and innovation thrive, where individuals are free to speak and love whoever they want without being persecuted; a country whose influence in the international arena is something smaller, developing countries can only wish to have an ounce of.
Like many Asian kids and teenagers growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, we gobbled up American culture, sometimes to the displeasure of our parents at home. We screamed in joy whenever they brought us to McDonald’s instead of cooking dinner at home; we knew the words to almost every Britney Spears song and always tried dancing to Baby One More Time; we cried everytime Ross and Rachel broke up on Friends.
But as I grew up and learnt more about America, I realised that the freedom and liberty there is not always something worth admiration. In particular, the lack of (adequate) control over gun ownership despite the number of deadly mass shootings leaves me appalled. As an educator myself, whenever I see news of school shootings in America, my heart sinks in pain. Schools are supposed to be safe spaces — the place where our children develop and find themselves as individuals, where the biggest concern any parent should have is that their child isn’t learning well, where the biggest threat to a teacher’s physical well-being is having to spend weekends preparing lessons and marking stacks of essays.
The Senate’s passing of the first gun control bill in decades is a baby step forward, but the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade the same day is ten steps backwards. I’m not sure what’s left of the America I used to look at with envy. While societies all over the world are becoming more progressive, especially in terms of women’s rights (Germany for example, just announced plans to abolish a Nazi-era law criminalising doctors who publicly provides information on abortion services), America is moving backwards in the 21st century. The divide in the country is deepening and doesn’t seem like it would stop any time soon.
The next question is, what would conservatives be coming for next?
