Are Americans really different from all other people?

All my life I’ve heard that I was lucky to live in the greatest country in the world. Hearing something like this makes a kid feel special. What did I do to be blessed in this way? I live in a place that is better than all the rest in the entire world. That’s something.

Hearing this is great for me, but what about the kids that live in those other not-as-great-as-America-places? When we speak like this, we trick ourselves into believing that we are better than others. And once we believe this, we begin to act like we are better than others.

Growing up on the Mexican-American border, I have had many opportunities to see two different worlds. On the other side, kids grow up in homes made of beat up wood pellets. They wear the same clothing for days. They drop out of school at young ages to find work. The little they earn; they use to support their families.

The kind of work they do is any kind, including the kinds that we would never imagine, or “bring ourselves down” to doing. Come to think of it, us Americans are different. We tell ourselves that we deserve better, so we act like it.