The Decline of America

The Decline of America? It feels like it's never going to happen. According to history, it's inevitable. I mean, just look at Spain during the 16th and 17th century, then France before the French Revolution, and Britain before America. They all acted as though they were going to be the number one country in the world forever and ever, and all eventually fell, or in the case of America will fall. (shout out to Dr. Schneider for all that global history knowledge).

But seriously at this point in time, does it feel as if America is ever going to decline? Not really. But it will. No matter how many medals America wins in the Olympics, no matter how many records we hold, no matter the state of our economy, America will eventually be knocked out of position as the number one country in the world. Shteyngart plays out the end of American global dominance in Super Sad True Love Story. About half way through the book, things start to hit the fan, and the whole country is thrown into chaos and disorder in an event that is later named The Rupture.

Shteyngart alluded to the Great Depression when Nettie Fine wrote in a message, "These ex-National Guardsmen boys are building cabins in the parks and protesting that they don't have their Venezuela bonuses." (Shteyngart, 100). Something very similar happened in 1932, when WWI veterans protested because they didn't receive their bonuses from the war, in something that became known as the Bonus March. The veterans built little towns in and around Washington D.C, marched to the White House, and clashed with police. Shteyngart skillfully foreshadowed the fall of America by reminding the reader of The Great Depression, one the worst times in American history.

(Bonus Marchers camp in 1932)

Shteyngart compares the quality of life in America with life in other countries by including the thoughts of immigrants in his book. Eunice's parents emigrated from Korea, and in a message to Eunice she wondered, "We come to America and now what happen to America? We worry. What it was all for?...Maybe we make big mistake," (169). The "American Dream" has been a big influence on foreigners, and for most of them, it was the main reason for coming to America. For some immigrants the American Dream turned out to be a nightmare, but for others America provided a country free of dictatorship and social injustices. Shteyngart reminds people that this glorious America won't be around forever, and warns us that we shouldn't act like it will, or our demise will be as violent as was in Super Sad True Love Story.