Expand, expand, expand.

Headline, headline, headline.

Threes tend to appear as a natural pattern, but the current state of affairs seems to be out of balance. 

“Trump and India Call Off Their Trade War, but the Terms of Peace Are Murky”

“From surge in patriotism to fewer US trips – Trump’s impact on Canada”

“Trump’s 2025 Travel Ban: Who Is Affected and What It Could Cost the U.S. Economy””

“Trump immigration policies hit Overland Park school weeks before raids on 2 local restaurants”

“Kirkwood and Webster Groves high schoolers brave the cold to join national walkout against ICE”

As article after article rolls out, the United States’ status on the world stage is up for question. Much seems to hang in the air, and protests are filling the streets of city after city, country after country. It’s clear our country needs to adjust, whether in its domestic or foreign relations. To senior Green Moment, America’s shift in policy may be leaving the nation’s marred alliances beyond repair. 

“This is a strong take, but I believe Imperialism is what brought the downfall of America and has completely shifted our homestead values and how we respond to domestic situations. It’s completely shifted that, and now we’ve gotten into this mindset of ‘conquer, conquer, conquer,’ when [there are] clearly problems arising in our country now. It’s derailed us in a way that… It’s irreversible now, and [it puts] us on the global map as more of an enemy rather than anything else, especially with us siding with people like Russia and China and bringing them onto the Board of Peace; it throws off our entire message of freedom and patriotism, and American values…We’re not using our power to the fullest capability in assisting as the world power we are,” said Moment. 

To remedy this issue, Moment proposes that the U.S. return to its approach during the World Wars, when it remained mostly uninvolved (until it was pulled into the conflict). Due to the economic and social state of the country currently, Moment finds it best to reflect on our own issues before we insert ourselves into the problems of other countries.

“We need to take a step back and evaluate [ourselves] and get back on track to help our people so we can help others,” Moment said. “We still have foreign aid. We still will help others, but we need to stay out of conflict.”

Although Moment is critical of America’s flaws, they also appreciate the beauty of its longstanding character. 

“[I’d rate my patriotism] a seven [out of ten], and people will hear that number and hear everything I’ve said and be like ‘mmmm.’ But I genuinely love America. I love the way the people of America have persevered and shown countless times that we’re not going to back down. We’re here to stay, but I can see its flaws,” said Moment. “When we only identify its flaws, we discredit everything that’s happened for us to get to this point, for us to come up with a solution.” 

While Moment maintains a positive sense of America’s identity based on its history, senior Eloise Marciante associates her patriotism with how the U.S. presents itself.

“[I feel] less patriotic. I feel more embarrassed of our country,” said Marciante. “I don’t believe in any of the policies or anything that the president has done for us or will do. I’m excited to vote in the presidential election. I wasn’t able to last year, but I wish I could have.” 

Like Moment, Marciante believes the state of the country can be improved through self-reflection.

“We need to reflect and improve our country at the moment. There’s no need to tamper with anything else. There’s no need to invade Venezuela or get involved in another country’s war. Especially right now. I don’t think we’re strong enough to. I don’t think that the majority of America would back up the government and these choices,” Marciante said. 

To Marciante, insertion into foreign issues is more a boasting of power than a strategic ploy. 

“I feel like our president wouldn’t bat an eye to go to war with someone over a piece of land or country. [Other countries] won’t follow what we’re doing, and I feel like they’re going to be like, ‘Can you just stop? Can you just stop for a second?’… Maybe we need to reflect on what we’re doing as a country if these other countries are trying to distance themselves, especially major countries that are known for having serious dictatorships,” said Marciante.

There have been several talks of expanding into other countries, like Greenland, Canada, and Venezuela. Junior George Stallings views this occupation as a militaristic and economic necessity.

“It’s definitely a calculated risk, because it’s putting us out there, but it is good to have a checkpoint that we can use to monitor current events,” said Stallings. “We are expanding on the whole Venezuelan, semi-recent conflict, [which] is definitely helping us with our capitalism on oil.”

With increasing shows of political dominance, Stallings believes foreign policy has overall positive effects on America’s reputation on the world stage, which has slightly increased his sense of patriotism.

“From a positive standpoint, it does put us out there as a world power and a country that is advanced, for lack of a better term. From a negative standpoint, it does put us as a target, because it’s easy to take what we’re doing and use it to other countries’ advantage,” said Stallings. 

Because the United States has defined itself as a world power, fellow countries often try to follow its lead— but with the United Nations and former American allies starting to distance themselves, will the U.S. be a lone soldier on the battlefield of Manifest Destiny? 

“Larger world powers, such as China and Russia, and other countries that already have that weight, they’ll definitely be trying to follow suit and expand their impact and their occupation. Smaller countries, like say, Greenland, for example, or a lot of African countries that are not as advanced from a military aspect, are going to be shying away from that,” Stallings said. 

Meanwhile, others view it as irresponsible and costly, both quantitatively and socially. 

“I hate to say it. We’re big enough. [You’ve got to] think land-wise, we’re huge. If we were to acquire Greenland, that would basically be nothing but a military expense. It’s mostly ice, very [few] people. It’s not going to help us in any way, shape, or form agriculturally or economically. You go there, you put troops in, those troops have to be paid, [fed, and housed]. I don’t think we need to do that, [especially with] inflation,” Moment said. 

On top of the physical costs, some students express qualms with the needs of the nation versus the government’s plans. 

“We need to work on the U.S. right now and what’s going on before we try to expand into things. We’re not united right now…why would we need extra land if we’re not all community already?” said Marciante. 

Though students are split on their views of American foreign policy, one thing they can agree on is the political polarization that has impacted the quality of discussion and action.  

“We are so divided on so many different things that we’re all arguing the same point at this point. We’re all like, ‘Dang, this sucks.’ At this point, people are arguing to argue. They’re throwing things out without a real solid base, and now it’s chaos. I hear one fight about this, one fight about that. Either it’s ICE, it’s Greenland, it’s Donald Trump, it’s Kamala [Harris]. I’m like, ‘Hey, we’re all human,” said Moment. 

A political middle ground (especially on social media) is as extinct as the dodo bird. With this absence, extreme sides often battle one another, causing political progress to crawl.

“Politically, everyone’s on an extreme side… there’s not really a middle ground because you either support what’s going on, [or] you don’t support it. People are starting to realize (if they didn’t already realize) what was happening is bad, and, with immigration, deportation, and the healthcare systems, people are starting to be like, ‘Okay, this is starting to become inhumane in a way?’ As a country, there’s room for improvement, obviously, but we’re starting to get there.,” Marciante said. 

While Marciante believes people are starting to come together and unite, Stallings views the political divide as a continuous expansion. 

“It’s creating a divide. It’s easy to polarize one’s beliefs to one side of the fence or another, and it’s really hard to unite both parties on an issue because there’s so much divide regarding everything going on with ICE, the Greenland conflict, the Venezuelan capturing of Nicholas Maduro, all of that together, it’s really hard to unite everyone’s beliefs on an issue.”

While foreign policy may seem like a distant concept from our lives in Cottleville, students who voice their opinions or have ties to other countries may feel its effects.

“If [students are] immigrants from a country experiencing conflict right now, it’s hard to get back home. That definitely impacts anybody trying to travel to Nigeria or anywhere in the Middle East,” said Stallings. “It can be smart to speak out on what students view, but it can also be polarizing. If you put anything out online that employers might be able to see, that can [segment] job opportunities into one of two categories: the ones you won’t get, or the ones [where] employers agree with you.”

In terms of future opportunities, students may feel uncomfortable traveling, especially when it comes to one of the most common college programs: study abroad. 

“The system to get into the U.S and get out is so corrupt, even if you’re a citizen, it’s still hard for you to prove that. Even though I love study abroad—that’s a great program— it might not be the best right now,” Marciante said.