Can We Rebrand America?

During an American Studies class in high school, we were given a project to “rebrand America.” Besides being my first exposure to marketing, this was also the first time I thought about America’s “brand.” America had already rebranded many, many times: From a scrappy, rebellious collection of colonies; to a fledgling democracy founded on equality but harboring deeply racist and unequal roots; to the defender of global democracies and an economic superpower.

At the time in the early 2000s, America was in the midst of rebranding itself in a post-9/11 world. Patriotism and the American Flag were symbols of strength, solidarity, and freedom. Our military was a divisive topic. Politics were glorified on The West Wing. The most I ever thought about politics was in the classroom.

The past four years have seen an entirely different America from the one I rebranded in high school — one very much in need of a rebrand, once again. Like many, I thought the dawn of a new presidency would restore not only our newsfeeds, but also our place in the world as thoughtful, fact-based, and democratic. But the riots at the US Capitol, at the insistence of the President, are a clear indication that not only do we have a lot more work to do as a country to fix what the last four years have broken; we also have a lot more work to do to rebrand our country and change how we, and others, perceive our nation.

Which begs the question — what would it take to rebrand America at this point? Can we recapture the American Flag as a symbol of unity? Can we view political parties as anything but divisive? Can we see elections as the voice of the people, or are they forever tarnished by claims (however unsubstantiated) of fraud?

I’m not particularly proud to be an American right now. I haven’t been for the last four years. But seeing the foundation of our nation crumble with a Tweet, and watching white domestic terrorists and rioters shepherded peacefully out of the Capitol when they would be shot for much less if they were black, makes me sick to my stomach. I am hopeful that with a new administration, and with new, determined leaders in Congress, our political system can do the hard work of rebuilding America. But who is going to take on the task of rebranding America, and where do you even begin?