being american ain't as sexy as it used to be...

I've been writing a lot recently, I know. It's stems largely from the fact that I'm spending this time in Singapore relaxing, sleeping, and... applying for jobs back home. The plan is to leave India on 20th June and return Stateside on 28th June, so time (and looming unemployment) are catching up with me... I've also had the chance to think- too much- which is one of the things I do best. After my last two blog entries I got an e-mail from my mother filled with love and comfort, telling me to do what felt right for me, and not to worry so much. I guess my writing may be giving off hints of melancholy, but please don't be worried. I may be spending these past few weeks and next couple of months in a constant (and possibly irritating) state of reflection and self/social analysis, but I'm certainly happy. And I'm perfectly content taking breaks from over-thought every so often to read the latest issue of People magazine while sipping a peach iced tea from Starbucks. (Oh THANK YOU globalization and Singapore! People Magazine, and your high fructose corn oil glossy covers, I missed you so).

Recently, I've been made uncomfortably aware of America's slipping power in multiple arenas. From the obvious economic downfall to the war in Iraq to money to prestige, saying you're American doesn't get the same 'wow' factor anymore. Maybe I was spoiled in India, where my white skin was poked and prodded and loved and hated with great intensity. However, my experiences in the cities were quite different than the villages and towns (as Jake and I have both mentioned throughout this blog). In the cities especially, India's got this crazy strange mix of the poshest of the posh with the poorer of the poor. The jetsetting, educated, speaks 5 languages, works hard, parties hard, beautiful people crowd in the cities (particularly Delhi and Mumbai), are unlike any group of people I've ever met. They're more elegant than the upper east side, hipper than williamsburg, and faster than chelsea. While Americans are disdained for being imperialist consumptive masters in the villages, Americans are simply behind the times, old-money hicks, in the fancy enclaves of the city. I simplify, generalize, and exaggerate, of course, but it's a trend that I think will only continue to rise. Asia, particularly India and China are on the covers of all our news weeklies, and they know that. America is not looking so good on the hard power front, as our economy is taking hits, our military is failing, and our own domestic inadequacies are shining through. Still, I've never known America to be anything but a superpower. I was born in the 1980s, and America has been number one in all regards my whole life. It still is, in many respects, but it's at times very unnerving, and a bit surreal to be abroad and watching the headlines read 'the downfall of America'. It's particularly strange to be in the part of the world that is considered the next frontier.

At the same time... Our soft power still rules, but not in the same way as before. Yesterday I saw Singaporean highschoolers breakdancing and streetdancing to funk and hip hop in the underpasses of malls and MRT stations. I watched young and old teenagers sing acoustic songs (some mangled, some gorgeous) by the Cranberries and REM at the Singapore Art Cafe. I went to Jazz @ Southbridge and drank chardonnay and listened to jazz and blues standards performed by an all Singaporean band. American brands and labels are all over the place here, from Starbucks to DKNY. In India, it's a bit of a stranger mix, but Simon and Garfunkel are played in the malls, American hip hop and R&B blast from cyber cafes, and I-pods are all the rage in the cities. When I ask folks in the cities about music and movies and what they like to do, so much of it is from America. Of course India has a rising export culture, from bangles to Bollywood, but for the most "modern" folks in the cities, the intermix of Indian and American is where it's hippest (I even see new mobile phones that advertise "Hinglish predictive text" for SMSing). In Singapore it feels the same way. In many ways, American culture dominates, but with an Asian flair. That said, simply being American doesn't quite cut it around here. In a jazz club where signs for Broadway are scattered on the walls next to photos of yellow taxi cabs, and the singer evokes Ella Fitzgerald, being from New York gets a shrugged response of "oh" (and don't laugh Jake, and say it's because I'm actually from New Jersey...) Perhaps in this increasingly interconnected global community (I'm speaking in upper-class terms only, right now), nationalism is not as relevant. Or perhaps I'm just not used to watching my country and my culture take to the sidelines. Over here, partnerships are being developed that are consciously excluding America, from political to economic to arts. I can't help but feel like these are new trends, and it's crazy strange to be in the midst of it.

In the end, it's probably a good thing. But maybe this is why so many Americans continue not to travel. It's not easy finding out you're not at the center of the universe (figuratively speaking). In this increasingly competitive and interconnected world, a name (whether it's a surname or a country name) can get you pretty far, but the American pedestal is definitely falling faster than we'd probably like. It's very easy to be self-deprecating toward your own country, and to criticize America. I do it all the time, and there are some things America has done (many things actually) that I'm outright ashamed of. But buried under that criticism is a deep love and affection. Hearing other people knock your culture, applaud it's downfall, or even worse, simply stop caring, is not as easy. Don't get me wrong, I recognize the power that comes with being from America, particularly where I came from in America. But I'm starting to recognize the vulnerabilities of that power first-hand. It's unsettling, but it makes for some good stories, that's for sure.