May 26, 2025

America: The Power That Lost?

America Global Power Lost - Faded brushstroke of the American flag on textured paper background

America global power lost isn’t just a headline, it’s a pattern. Power doesn’t always go to the most capable. Sometimes it goes to whoever showed up first with money, leverage, and a loud media machine. That’s how superpowers are built, not through wisdom, but momentum.

But when power lacks empathy, global awareness, or credibility, it fades. That’s exactly what we’re seeing now.

Superpower by Brand, Not Behavior

For decades, the United States branded itself as the leader of the free world. In name, it still is. But in practice, that image is unraveling. I’ve been to 21 countries. I’ve seen the shift. The brand still exists, loud, visible, everywhere.

But the respect is fading. People aren’t impressed anymore. They’re paying attention now.

America global power lost: Gaza , The Turning Point

America’s handling of Gaza wasn’t just disappointing, it was disqualifying. While the world condemned the violence, the U.S. funded it. Loudly.

In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, the backlash is material. Boycotts are hitting brands. Starbucks. McDonald’s. Burger King.

Not because of marketing missteps, but because people are done watching bombs drop with American support. You can’t claim moral high ground while financing violence and destruction.

America Global Power Lost - Destroyed buildings in Gaza with a quote overlaid from Fatima Hassouna about hope after war.
I am looking forward to my life after the war and I am confident that beautiful things will come.” — Fatima Hassouna (March 2000 – April 2025)

America global power lost – Power Without Awareness

Here’s the contradiction, The U.S. has shaped wars, borders, and sanctions for decades, but 40% of Americans don’t have passports. Many don’t know where these countries are on the map. Some confuse continents, others arrive abroad still expecting admiration. The gap between influence and understanding has become too wide to ignore.

Global respect requires more than confidence. It requires competence.

Tariffs That Backfired

Another sign of decline? The trade wars. Tariffs aimed at punishing China and reshaping global commerce have mostly hurt the U.S. economy itself. Farmers lost markets. Small businesses faced higher costs. Consumers paid the price.

Instead of showing strength, America revealed its fear, It no longer knows how to compete, only how to retaliate.

Economic power isn’t about waving a flag. It’s about being part of a system. And increasingly, the U.S. is on the outside of that system, isolated by its own strategy.

Even Harvard Isn’t Safe Anymore

In May 2025, the U.S. government tried to block Harvard from enrolling international students. Yes, Harvard.

The official claims? Antisemitism and alleged links to China. The result? Over 6,800 students nearly forced out. Only a federal judge’s intervention kept them in.

But the message was clear,  even America’s most prestigious institutions are no longer protected from political fear.

To the global academic community, this was a warning. You are welcome, until you’re not. Even brilliance has to watch its back now.

The Great Disappearing Act

While American policy alienates the world, more Americans are quietly leaving their own country, not to represent it, but to step away from it.

They’re showing up in Lisbon, Mexico City, Bali, and Costa Rica, not as ambassadors, but as escapees. Some are chasing affordability. Others want out of a political climate they no longer recognize.

And many, especially Black Americans, queer people, and the burned-out middle class, are just trying to find safety, healthcare, or peace. They come on digital nomad visas, ancestry claims, or retirement pathways.

They aren’t looking to lead. They’re looking to breathe. Because when even Harvard gets threatened, when cost of living feels like punishment, and when trust in your government disappears, leaving stops feeling radical. It starts feeling responsible.

Power Isn’t Just What You Hold. It’s What You Keep.

Soft power isn’t about dominance. It’s about trust, it’s about cultural respect, it’s about alignment. And right now, America has lost all three.

The government feels disconnected, the citizens feel exhausted, and abroad, they no longer represent a country people want to follow.

America isn’t just losing its grip on power, it’s struggling to belong to the world it once tried to lead.

 

If you’re one of the Americans who still believes in accountability, truth, or just doing better, don’t disappear completely. Keep using your voice. Even if it shakes. Even if you’re tired.

Read: Keep Going Anyway: The Messy Middle of Inclusion

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