I once told an
intellectual that most of the modern things we all use in our
daily lives, which have been invented during the last 150 years
are mostly American inventions and American ingenuity, be it
a motor car, an Airplane, a TV, Movies, a Ball Point Pen, Razor
Blade, Synthetic Clothes, the Computer or Internet and the list
goes on.
All of these were
invented and popularized in America. I asked him to name
a few things that we use in our daily life, which have been
invented by any other country of the world within the last 150
years. Surprisingly he was not able to name even a single item.
Does it not speak volumes in itself of what America has contributed
to the human society ?
It is true that most of the things
that we are using in our every day life have been invented,
improved and popularized by America. To name a few, here is a
list of some of the inventions.
Inventions
People who invented
Aeroplane
Wright Brothers
Automobile Henry Ford
Telephone Graham Bell
Computers Charles Babbage
Internet American Military
Plastics
Alexander Parkes
Synthetic yarn &
clothes Du Pont
Atomic
power Fermy
Ball point
pen Parker
Razor
Blade Gillette
Modern assembly
plants Henry Ford
Cinema and
Tape
Recorder Thomas A. Edison
Immigration
Some people consider
America, as a bastion of xenophobia and bigotry but the truth is
that today the US takes in more immigrants than at any point in
its history. Be it the America’s first multimillionaire -John
Jacob Astor or the inventor of telephone - Alexander Grahm Bell
or the Hollywood pioneer -Louis B. Mayer or the inventor of
video game - Ralph Baer, all are among the immigrants to
America. People all over the world always entertain the idea of
immigrating to America as compared to any other place across the
globe.
Technology
America has been in
the vanguard in bringing technology reforms all over the world
and has helped tremendously in making the lives of billions of
people around the world easy and comfortable. It has given
the world motion pictures, the telephone, the television, the
computer, the Internet, the airplane, the VCR, and a host of
other machines and devices that have vastly improved the quality
of human life.
Enlightened Power
America despite
being the sole superpower has never misused its supremacy. It is
the most powerful country, but has always fought against
imperialism. In fact, it has used its military strength to
liberate Nazi Germany, South Korea, Afghanistan and Hussein’s
Iraq and countless other countries. America also sought to
prevent many other countries from increasing their all angled
control over their innocent population and others.
Creating Wealth
America has served
as the hub for the world economy. America is a country with
capitalistic approach where everyone gets an equal opportunity
of earning and creating wealth. Not only the natives but also
the foreigners get an opportunity to work for better jobs. The world economy
rests on America’s 12 trillion dollar pillar.
Generosity
Great wealth does
not always lead to great generosity. But, Americans have always
been on the forefront when it comes to providing support and aid
in the face of disaster or calamity. In the year 2000, Americans
gave more than $ 200 billion in charity, which was much more
than the total amount donated by the rest of the world put
together. Since World War II, the U.S. Government has given
billions of dollars in foreign aid, which may be taken as the
highest amount in the world just given away as charity. America
has always proved to be a friend in need.
Medicine
The entire world
looks up to America when it comes to making any break through in
the field of medicine. Americans helped cure polio and
tuberculosis, developed vaccines for hepatitis B and yellow
fever, pioneered modern chemotherapy, and produced the CAT-scan,
MRI, and a host of other modern medical devices.
Human Achievement
Americans have
always pioneered human endeavors to unleash new inventions and
discoveries. Be it the first transatlantic flight, the first man
on the moon, breaking the speed of sound and building the Panama
Canal - all serve as a testimony to American courage and
ingenuity.
The Automobile
One of the biggest
contributions, which America has made to the world, is the
invention of cars. Today’s blooming automobile industry owes its
success to Henry Ford’s initiative that made it possible for an
average person to experience the wonder and comfort of a car. It
is because of this great American that hundreds of companies
exist and offer an ever-growing number and variety of
automobiles in the world.
Entertainment
Majority of the
movies the world watches, the television shows they tune into,
and the music they listen to, are produced in the United States.
It is an undeniable fact that the whole world loves to watch
American TV and cinema.
Defending and
Helping Freedom Bloom
America has always
believed in the concept of Non-Offensive Defense (NOD). Despite
being the sole superpower in the world it has always believed in the
principle – ‘live and let live’. America has never craved for
establishing its authority over other countries of the world. On
the contrary, it has helped several countries to get rid of the
cruel dictatorship. It has appealed to all the nations across
the globe to live in peace and harmony. That is the reason, why
America was in the forefront to establish ‘United Nations
Organization’ and the ‘World Bank’.
The most important
thing a man needs is freedom and America has been the only
country whose sacrifices have helped to fight out imperialistic
invasion in World War I, World War II and Korean War. In
addition, America defeated many other dictators and mass
killers. It is hard to imagine what the world would have been
like, had America not come to the rescue of Britain, France and
Russia during World War II from the tyranny of Adolph Hitler, notwithstanding the gas chambers used by Hitler in Germany and
in other countries.
It was the historic
Atlantic Charter declaration on August 14, 1941 by Franklin
Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, which promised to restore
democracy in all the countries liberated by America, its allied
forces and countries under their direct rule.
It is of historical
importance to note that in the Second World War America did not
fight for land or natural resources, but it fought for basic
human rights and principles of democracy that America sought to
spread all over the world. Consequently, America was highly
successful in changing feudal war-mongering psyche of Germany
and Japan and forced them to renounce nuclear weapons and their
imperialist designs on their neighbours once and for all. At the
same time America promised the whole world that it would help in
restoring full political independence in the countries which it
had liberated alongwith its allies.
When Winston
Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met at Atlantic Ocean,
Churchill agreed to all the demands for freedom for all the
countries under the British rule, but he was very adamant in
refusing to promise to give complete independence to India. This
was the only point, which remained a stumbling block in reaching
mutual agreement. But Franklin Roosevelt was also adamant and
insisted that India should be given full freedom after the
war and ultimately Churchill had to give in to President
Roosevelt’s demand and agreed to give complete independence to
India after the war. Here is an excerpt from the famous
historical Atlantic Charter :
