According to the Henley & Partners, the U.S. passport is the third strongest passport in the world, with access to 174 countries, out of 218, without a visa. So this means that in a lifetime, an American is very unlikely to fear rejection of getting a visa. It means an American is almost never going to be anxious in a waiting room for a visa before their interview. All fears a non-American knows too well.
It might be the third strongest passport, which is still highly impressive, but there are still certain connotations with being an American. It is a station that so many people esteem and once they reach it, it feels like they’ve accomplished the ultimate success in life. Being an American is something everyone wishes for themselves and their loved ones.
Being a non-American means always looking up, and in a lot of cases, they are looking through a glass ceiling. Being a non-American means that countries and the media alike value your life much less than they value an American and this is clearly evident in many ways.
Americans have such easy fluidity between countries. They are treated with respect because the host country knows what kind of consequences it might face if an American is hurt on their grounds.
The media also reinforces the idea of the superior American even further. For example, the recently hijacked EgyptAir airplane had 81 passengers on board. Most media outlets headlined the incident with adding how many Americans there were on board, 10, who were followed by the British, 8. Though the flight is Egyptian and likely to have had more nationalities on board, the media thought it is only worthy to report the Americans right away followed by the British. It is not the first incident this happens nor will it be the last. But reports following this format serve to fulfil a much bigger agenda of oppression. Being a non-American means that your life is worth less than an American, or simply just worthless.
Though many people would claim they would not want to be American, they would still want to have the same domestic and international privileges an American does. The United States might argue that they worked hard to reach these privileges but at what cost and on whose shoulder did that fall onto? Are they the ones treated with equality and respect in the country?
Certainly, the United States suffers from inequality and stratification. Nevertheless, non-Americans, and mainly Easterners and other least developed societies, end up suffering for Americans as a whole to be alleviated to the top due to a political agenda. Also, the way America views a Non-American region sets the tone for the rest of the world.
Moreover, the U.S. is seemingly doing the bare minimum to restore equality within the country and globally. In fact, it seems that the system is working to further oppress the already oppressed with the African American death by police toll rising to 1,100 in 2015, visas and green cards becoming much harder to earn, and presentations of the East and Hispanics in the media not improving.
So, therefore, the ultimate winner in this situation, the winner in the world, is arguably the white American. What do you think?
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