The Glorification of the West

Welcome back to WOM... After many months of severe writer's block as well as indecisiveness of what topic to write about, I chose this one...

What is the American Dream? How was the glorification of the West passed down through the generations? What amount of freedom is tolerated?

All of the questions above have marinated in my mind for the last few months and I can finally say my opinion has been formed from every angle my mind can comprehend. As I reminisce on my childhood, it is clear how much I held the West to a high standard. The media I consumed consisted mostly of American and British content, whether it was a cartoon, a YouTube video or even movies. Due to this, I believed that part of the world was living a completely different life, I believed they had contrasting concepts and values. This was not untrue. It was actually very accurate... However, a part of my mind also thought they were better. Why is this? It is human nature to crave what you do not have....

With that being said, let us rewind to the 1920s. The roaring '20s for America. For Europe it consisted of devastation and rebuilding after WW1. The roaring '20s involved new music, fashion, culture, traditions and - at the time - it was considered the prime of America. This is also when the American Dream was introduced.

The American Dream is defined as the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. Obviously, at a time of severe racism this was completely untrue but it was a very successful form of propaganda. Even in 2024 I still hear this concept being mentioned by Americans and people from all around the world who believe in it, despite it being defined as opportunities available to 'any American', not any person who goes to America. Nevertheless, even Americans do not see the equality of opportunity around them. In fact, they see the lack of, a lot of them are frustrated by this especially as the rate of inflation increases.

In other regions of the world, the 1920's were the opposite. Many countries in Asia and Africa were still colonised by the European Superpowers. In the Middle East, when our parents and grandparents turned their televisions on, they teleported to a fantasy world. A world where people always wore smiles, where it seemed like no struggles existed. Then the television would disconnect, the children would go up to the roof and have to reposition the aerial so they could go back to watching the unfamiliar world of the West. As soon as it turned off, the fantasy world disappeared and they were back to their content reality, though something was missing....

The Western world was dominating all forms of media, and still is. They were dominating the world politically and economically as well, this stuck in people's minds all around the world. A mindset of feeling inferior was infected in different nations, which was eventually passed down through the generations. From the Baby Boomers to Generation X, to the Millenials, to Generation Z and even Generation Alpha. The Baby Boomers and Generation X worked hard to learn English and many of them pursued their further education in Western Countries. Many of the Millenials and Generation Z grew up neglecting their first languages, instead they adopted English as their first language. This problem has become even worse with Generation Alpha.

The question 'How was the glorification of the West passed down through the generations?' has a very simple answer. From one mind to the next, from the parent to the child, from our role models to us. Colonisation played a huge role in this, as it erased cultures. Cultures which held people's identities are still, to this day, lost in the past, with many people searching and attempting to find the crumbs they left behind. Erasing people's identities and creating a weak identity is a perfect method of controlling the world. The effects of which are still clear in many countries today.

Along with this glorification came the concept of freedom... Freedom is a word that is beloved to those who are ignorant in the West and still believe that the Nations in the East are oppressed. Yes, some countries are oppressive to their people. However, and I need every person to read this twice: is there as much freedom in the West as they claim there is? Is there no oppression? I wonder if their crimes against different races and religions are taken into consideration when they say that they are the land of the free.... In reality, many people who have come out to voice their logical beliefs in the West have been attacked, threatened or hushed.

So, I urge every person reading this to take a moment to think about how much freedom is actually tolerated in the West...

I believe that, for the past five, almost six months, the world has transformed, the mask of the west has been ripped off. The mask that all of us contributed in creating. We need to embrace our identities more and more each day. It is our job now to become aware of the issues that surround us and hear different opinions in order to form our own. We should no longer believe we are inferior, only that we are different and differences should be appreciated. The political world is also shifting with many countries in the East rising. Numerous politicians believe we are entering a period of time marked by the fall of the West. The future has become unpredictable and the most important thing to do now is learn more about ourselves, our histories and cultures and the origins of different concepts within our countries - in order to restore what has dissipated through time.