Dear America,
I want to begin with this:
I love you.
I really, truly do.
I lived in your cities. I walked your campuses. I sat in your coffee shops, dreaming of building something that could change the world.
America was where I studied. Where I discovered my voice.
Where I fell in love with ideas that reshaped my life.
Where I started Mindvalley, with nothing but ambition and a belief that anything was possible.
For a full decade, you were my home.
And in many ways, you still are.
I may live elsewhere now, but I still identify as American more than anything else.
Because America—the idea of America—isn’t just geography.
It’s a frequency. A dream. A promise that inspired not just me, but billions of people around the world.
What we loved about you
We loved your optimism—the way you believed anything was possible.
We loved your rebels—the ones who spoke truth to power and rewrote the rules.
We loved your Martin Luther King Jr., whose voice still echoes across continents.
We loved your Silicon Valley, that dared to invent the future.
We loved your Apple, born in a garage, changing the way we connect.
We loved Burning Man, a wild celebration of freedom, creativity, and community in the desert.
We loved your poets, your scientists, your dreamers.
You were never perfect. But damn—you had soul.
You were the lighthouse.
The messy, brilliant, complicated beacon we looked toward for what was possible.
But lately… that light feels like it’s flickering.
What the world sees now
In just six months, this is what the world has seen:
– Threats to abandon NATO, the alliance that preserved peace for generations.
– Pointless trade wars where everyone loses.
– Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty, while the Earth burns.
– And now—bombs falling on Iran.
Another unwinnable war in the Middle East.
A war your people swore they’d never allow again.
Not after Iraq.
Not after Afghanistan.
And it’s not just the outer world we see you destroy.
We see you tearing yourselves apart from within.
- Immigration raids that tear apart families and have caused LA to burn.
- Politicians who sound like children while openly taking bribes.
- Tax cuts for billionaires, while those struggling now actually have to pay more in taxes.
- A climate movement abandoned by the very country where it was born.
And yet—I’m writing this letter with an open heart.
Because I haven’t given up.
This week, I’m helping my son apply to U.S. universities. We’re preparing for a tour of East Coast campuses. Then, I’m driving from South Dakota to Yosemite, with stops at Mount Rushmore and the great open spaces I fell in love with.
I want to show my son America. Because I still believe in what America can be.
But I also cannot stay silent—not as a lover of your culture, not as a global citizen.
This spiral you’re in?
It must be named. And it must be stopped.
Because true friends don’t stay silent when they see you crashing.
The spiral was not a mystery. It was a choice.
Every war.
Every broken treaty.
Every erosion of trust.
It didn’t just happen. It was chosen through voting decisions.
By people who, often unknowingly, chose:
- Ego over empathy.
- Charisma over character.
- Soundbites over substance.
And I don’t blame you.
You were caught in a storm of propaganda. You were tired, misled, afraid.
But we need to be honest:
When you vote for leaders who enable war, destabilize peace, and govern through vengeance, you are not just voting for policy. You are voting for self-destruction.
What happened to service?
A great American president once said:
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
Another said:
“We must never remain silent in the face of injustice.” – Barack Obama
Even Ronald Reagan once called America a “shining city upon a hill.”
What happened to that America?
Now we see leaders who sow division instead of unity.
Who thrive on conflict rather than compassion.
Who look not to serve, but to rule.
And as Sun Tzu warned:
“Some men would set their own nation ablaze, just to be king over the ashes.”
Can you recognize them?
Because now more than ever, you must.
America, you’ve always known how to tell the story. Now it’s time to live it.
Think of your heroes.
The ones you’ve shown us on screen for decades.
Will Smith in Independence Day.
Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
They save the world, not just themselves.
They protect their families, but they also rise to a higher mission.
That’s what made us fall in love with you.
Your heroes were never selfish.
They were flawed, yes. But they stood up for something bigger.
So why, in real life, do you so often vote for the opposite?
Your vote is not just yours
I say this with love—and urgency:
Your vote doesn’t just affect your neighborhood. It affects the entire planet.
- It affects the air we all breathe.
- The treaties we all depend on.
- The peace we all hope for.
- The future our children will inherit.
This is no longer about party loyalty or economic policy.
This is about consciousness.
This is about whether the most powerful country on Earth will continue to operate from fear and ego —
Or rise into wisdom and service.
What the world needs from you now
We don’t need another American empire.
We need an American elder.
Not one who dominates. One who guides.
Not one who fears. One who serves.
Because you were never meant to be a fortress.
You were meant to be a lighthouse.
But a lighthouse cannot fulfill its purpose if it forgets to shine inward first.
You taught us to dream. Now we’re asking you to dream again.
The world doesn’t hate you.
We’re not laughing at you.
We’re just watching… and hoping.
Hoping that the America we believed in is still in there.
The next time you march in the streets,
March for all of us.
Not just for the poor or hungry in your zip code.
But for the citizens of our shared planet who need you to shine again.
And when the time comes…
Vote with your heart. And with your higher self.
The choice is yours
Not every election is a turning point.
But some are.
And the one you’re facing now?
This is that moment.
You can vote for leaders who turn the world into a battlefield.
Or vote for those who understand that true power is service.
You can choose:
- Ego or evolution
- Division or destiny
- Fear or future
The world is not asking you to be perfect.
We are simply asking you to remember who you are, at your best.
The America that marched with MLK.
That wrote the Moonshot speech.
That created iPhones, NASA, jazz, and the dream that all humans are created equal.
That’s the America we still believe in.
That’s the America the world needs.
Let that be the America you choose.
— Vishen
Founder, Mindvalley
Citizen of Earth.
Forever shaped by the promise of America.
PS: This letter isn’t just mine—it’s a conversation we all need to have. I’d love to hear how this landed for you. What do you believe America still stands for? What does it need to stand for?
Share your comments below.
Let’s make this a space for reflection, dialogue, and hope.
953 Responses
Thank you Vishen for the inspiring letter. I could not agree more. In the late 90s and early 2000s I happened to live in the USA for 7+ years. Back then, my time was filled with wonderful experiences that still influence many decision I make today. Often in life there is more to an experience than meets the eye. Now, years later, I grew to understand that this ‘more’ is the idea of America as Vishen puts it so eloquently. America is not just a place, it is so much more, in all its beauty and sometimes its lack thereof. In sum, the idea of America taught me to make better decisions. It taught me to pursue my ideas with perseverance and compassion. I would love to see an ever growing number of people experiencing this idea, so they can take the seeds of their ideas home, and plant them to make the world a better place for themselves and others.
I think this discussion lacks perspective of history. Do you also think Hitler should not have been stopped?
Dear Vishen,
Your letter brought tears to my eyes — not just for what you wrote, but for what it stirred in my soul.
You spoke of America not as geography, but as a frequency — and I felt it echo in my blood.
Through my family lineage, Thomas Jefferson is my first cousin many generations back. His ideals, his contradictions, his bold vision for a republic rooted in liberty and conscience — they still live in the quiet corners of my heart, and run, unmistakably, in my blood.
He and the other Founders dared to pen a new vision of human liberty — one bold enough to risk treason, fragile enough to require care, and unfinished enough to demand that future generations carry it forward.
How disheartened they must be now.
To witness the nation they seeded — meant to grow toward justice and wisdom — stumbling through a fog of ego, division, and forgetfulness.
To see sacred rights bartered for noise, and power wielded not in service but in spectacle.
To see the light they lit in Philadelphia flicker beneath the weight of fear.
And yet, as I read your words, something stirred.
That ember — still glowing.
The one that marched barefoot through snow, that flowed from my cousin’s quill, that stood with suffragettes and knelt with peacemakers.
It is still here.
Wounded. But waiting.
Waiting for us to remember who we are.
Thank you for your letter — tender, urgent, and brave. Thank you for reminding us that the world does not ask for our perfection, only our promise. That America was never meant to be a fortress, but a flame.
I believe the Founders — my cousin among them — are watching still.
And I pray that in our next choice, our next march, our next whisper of conscience,
we give them something to be proud of once more.
With deep gratitude,
Dr. Donna Hoffman
Descendant of the Jefferson Line, Keeper of the Flame
Thank you for this. My heart is breaking and I’m bawling my eyes out. It’s so hard living in the middle of this. Please pray for us all and the world.
What you see from here isn’t what you’d see from there.
Bombing nuclear facilities in Iran who openly stated that they want nuclear weapons to destroy Israel (the small satan) and the US (the big satan) resulted in stopiping the war between Israel and Iran.
So maybe it was a right decision?
Perspective changes everything.
Exactly as talking about the obsolescence of the universities when you have small kids, but helping to choose the one when your child reaches the age.
I didn’t know what to expect when I opened this email! Vishen, thank you for taking the time to craft such a heartfelt and needed dialogue. Very few organisations enter the political conversation for obvious reasons. This was well said.
This is not political, it’s existential. If nobody does anything we are going to end.
Vishen! Beautiful.
Thank you.
Thank you Vishen
Well said
I couldn’t agree more
Much love ❤️
Dorothea
This speaks to my heart. Thank you for writing this and sharing it.
Your perspective hits deep. I’m an American with a lineage back to the May Flower. I love my country and loved it more after sharing my time between it and France. Many of the aspects you pointed out in your message are what I was able to see upon stepping out of my country and looking at it through clear eyes. The country of hope, imagination and freedom. I have no idea how we got to where we are. I know we’re easily swayed through our emotional needs to belong to a team or group and thus easily manipulated. This rise in racist, bigoted and chauvinistic manipulation has been so very obvious to me that I was sure people would see through this blatant hideous movement. They don’t seem to care. Is it our education? Is it the inability to accept responsibility for the atrocities under the creation of our beautiful country? Is it the very thing that allows us to be the country for dreamers? I’ve gone off and will reign it back. I loved reading your message and I hear you and my votes will be for humanity and consciousness.
I’m American, and I totally agree!
I never thought our country would go through what we’re currently going through.
It’s so embarrassing to have a president who only thinks of himself and his own gain.
I love the whole world, not just America!
I want us all to work together to create love, peace, joy, harmony and abundance for ALL.
There’s so much we could do to better the world.
Wake up, America!!
Thank you for this, Vishen. You are saying what many of us have been saying and thinking here in the US. There are many of us who did not vote for any of this, and we are in shock. How can I share this from my Facebook page? Thank you, again. Yours in Service, ~Allison N.
An analysis of the current situation in The United States of America–filled with reflection, sadness, warmth, love, vision and hope–without hate or animosity. Well-done. I wish I had written it, Vishen.
Spot on I totally agree. I’d honestly forgotten the America you describe. It feels like it’s lost its way now. I hope it will find its way to a place of peace and oneness soon as it’s sad to watch
Vishen, I hear you. It’s bad. So many red lines have been crossed, It will get worse before it gets better. Or it may not get better. I try to keep myself centered with meditation. Mindvalley helps. Painting helps. Protesting helps.
Thank you for not giving up on us,.
Thank you for speaking out . The political situation in America
is so dire that no one can afford to stay silent . Americans please reclaim your country. Please educate the masses so that people may learn to see through the propaganda and misinformation. If you can’t afford it please travel to see the world, to learn about different countries, economies & ways of thinking . Europe and Scandinavia are great places to start. If you can’t afford to travel then read … look for a diversity of sources of information & values .
God bless America. God bless this beautiful planet we live in.
From a neighbour across the pond , in Scotland .
I agree with this letter 100%. I was dismayed and deeply saddened the day our current president took office. And several months ago, I read another letter from you challenging people to think diffrently about how this same president refused to accept reality and dared to create his own. How you had been invited to meet him and thought that he and those with his values were actually great people. Maybe they are, but money (or something) controls their lives and bahavior. Apparently if you have money, you are in the club and you see their good side. That previous letter made me sick to my stomach, and made me want to not participate in Mindvalley any longer. It made me feel like money can cloud the minds of all good people, including Vishen Lakiani. I’m so grateful to see this new letter. How do you think it feels to be stuck in America while this is happening when it wasn’t anything you ever wanted or voted for? I understand if you never post this response, but I hope all of your filters at least let you read it.
Thanks for sharing.
I have no words.
I am wondering what is the real purpose of this post. This post was not written by someone who knows America or loves America. You stress voting which is probably the most controversial topic you could have chosen. That is a topic to divide, not heal. You obviously have no idea what is happening in America. You seem to have a storybook picture but not the real facts or you are choosing to camouflage the truth.
When you are here touring with your son, look at the people. Go to any Walmart and sit there and look at the people. You will realize how sick the population is right now. It is heartbreaking to watch the rapid decline in the health of our population. We are being attacked and poisoned on so many levels; the air, the water, the food, the monetized health care system, core curriculum, the fake news media, fake internet search results just to name a few topics you could have written about. Why don’t you talk about any of what is really going on in America.
America has the feel of being at war but with an unnamed entity. Talk about that and truly make a difference. America needs people to help not divide. If you lived here, or truly loved America, you would choose to help and not choose to write something like this post.
Sincerely,
Veronica McCarthy
Veronica of America, we are ‘of the World’, this is not just for you, this is for us all. The whole world goes through unprecedented times, and Vishen is actually very brave to open a conversation. He is trying to help, highlighting good things and calling upon good things to come back. Your interpretation is unfortunately missing the point, all good people around the world are sending you and your people good vibes, so you can do something about it. Sitting and lamenting never gets the job done.
As an American who actively voted against this (and remember that only 65% of registered voters actually voted- which is its own problem), it feels wildly out of our control. We call our representatives, we march in protests, we speak out of social media. There is something bigger and more sinister going on behind the scenes. It’s not just about elected representatives. I hope that doesn’t sound like conspiracy; there’s a lot of evidence that groups like the heritage foundation and other powerful figures are pulling strings behind the curtain. It’s terrifying and depressing. I feel a lot of grief daily. Very, very few of us wanted any of this. Even those who voted for the people now in place – I believe most of them were taken in by propaganda. At the same time, it is incredibly disheartening and disturbing to see people emerge from under the cracks who seem to be getting joy out of ripping families apart, hate crimes, corruption, and chaos. I have to have hope, but admittedly that feels harder to come by with every new, disturbing action by this administration. America is a very young country, and as such a revolution is likely but not inevitable.
I’m glad to see this letter. A few months ago I got an email from you praising Trump for how he was able to create his own reality. That email disgusted me; what’s the point of a vision if it’s not based on love.