February 2025
Dear reader,
Long time, no see! I’m glad to have you back with us for this first issue of the new year, and I can’t wait for you to check out what’s inside.
As I’ve read these articles, I’ve noticed a recurring theme of redefinition. Our authors approach this from many angles, from attempts to rebrand celebrity reputations to the political reframing of rising egg prices. But in every case, one thing is clear: a lot hinges on how you define something.
Take America itself for example. What is America? Do I stand on it? Come from it? Hope for it? Belong to it? To George Washington, America was “the great experiment”; to Ronald Reagan, the “last, best hope of man on Earth; to Mao Zedong, a “paper tiger”; and to Donald Trump, it is somehow both “the greatest place on earth” and “a failing nation”.
From Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Biden’s farewell address, America has often been defined as an idea. This version of America is, at its core, a set of values that any nation could share, such as equality, independence, justice, liberalism, and democracy.
Yet Vice President J.D. Vance defines America differently. “America is not just an idea,” he often says, “It is a people.” On other occasions, he calls it a homeland. This redefinition has real consequences–for starters, it suggests that Americanness is not exactly transferable. Holding American ideals is not enough to make someone an American.
In this issue, one of our authors discusses that exact question, challenging the Trump/Vance administration’s redefined immigration rhetoric and policy. Other writers question how we define nations around the globe: What does it mean to be Canadian, and does it include speaking French? What does it mean to be Chinese, and can that title truly be reduced to include only the Han people? Can political movements that start on social media end up changing what it means to be Italian, Hungarian, or German–or does the digital world dissolve national borders and leave us grouped along ideological lines instead? How does Israel’s quest for dominance in the Middle East align with–or deviate from–its previous national identity? What does it mean to be a Democrat, a Republican, or even a college student?
Whether or not you agree with their analyses, I hope you find it valuable not only to reflect on the headlines du jour, but also to consider the fundamental understandings from which those political outcomes spring.
Until next time,
Jane
P.S. In my opinion, the best answer to “what is America?” is found in Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again”. If you read it, let’s discuss–my inbox is always open.
