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
Yes Vishen. Its very hard to watch what the soul of America is today.. and tears of hope rolled down as I read your piece. As the father of our former PM once said.. I live next to a giant elephant which when it sneezes..it could blow my home away. America’s soul touches the whole world!
So With you and everyone, I join my voice to say it “America needs to match with all of us again” America will shine beautifully from within.
I love your letter. It is powerful, rousing and sentimental too. But here on your pages, the people who read it are all the ones who never voted for this tyrant in the first place. We are the ones who feel just like you, only from the inside we are watching our beloved country and everything we worked so hard to gain being dashed to bits. It took generations to put racism, sexism and so many other isms under the lid, to lift awareness, foster diversity and work toward equality. It was undone with the stroke of a pen and like Pandora’s box it’s all escaped back into the nation and has found easy ignorant load voices to preach it. We can’t be a beacon when pur minds are polluted and fed a daily pablum of hate. It is so hard to be a conscious American now. We literally have to fight everyday or be silent and watch them just tear down our world. I’m 70, I’m fighting, but I am exhausted. It’s taking its toll. This regime is literally killing me. We lead double lives 1) enjoying our beautiful place and 2) fighting the cesspool of greed, corruption, pollution, warmongering, kidnapping, domestic terrorism racist barbarian felons starving the poor so they can get fatter. The ones who read your letter are sick about our nation. We are trying, but our votes weren’t enough, our thousands of letters and calls to our Congress people weren’t enough. Our rally aren’t enough. Our courts aren’t enough. Our donations aren’t enough. We the people who are still conscience, are doing all we can. I know we will hold our beacon against this crashing onslaught until there are none of us left but I’m afraid this damage, if repairable, will take a lifetime to see healed.
Well said! In the most difficult times, we should always remember and remind each other, who we are and what we stand for….
Yes. Beautiful blog! Time to stand up and make not only America great, but this whole planet great for all humans! We are born without knowledge. We try to survive, we are scared but we are human. We need peace, a full belly and safety inside our hearts. We don’t need to make it more difficult. We should help each other, instead of only few people who rule it all, just for power (only from fear and hurt).
I stand up and it’s time to show all our lights into this world for them who can’t see in the dark, so they can see the right path/direction again <3.
Thank you so much, Vishen, for your passion and love of this country. I, too, love my country. I weep that we have lost our compass, and I pray we regain it soon. Back in the 1990s, I suspected we were losing our way when I talked with fellow, much younger grad students about growing up with and surviving the Klan and got blank stares, as though I were a relic of something that died long ago. Our sense of time is distorted. I believe that distortion negatively affects the willingness of some to think and understand that freedom requires love and attention every day–yes, through our votes, and also the community we form with one another, and our willingness to absorb and transform the least among us, including those whose hearts are hardened, humiliated, and fearful.
I’ve never been to America but watch from the side lines in South Africa and say well written you hit the nail on the head. I originally came from Rhodesia and saw the exact same happening there. Its sadly a story for most countries in this world today. Love your work and thank you
Thank you Vishen, for your eloquence. I left the US 50 years ago but it is still my country and I vote. I am heartbroken and frightened. Even though I live in my little paradise in Costa Rica I know the repercussions of the decisions being made in the US affect everyone on the planet. Your contribution to the world is invaluable. Thank you for giving us the space to lend our voices.
I love your letter. I pray it will be read by millions of individuals. We all need to hear its message.
Thank you.
Thank you. Finally someone who reflects how I feel as an immigrant who believes in America and came here because of a dream
Thanks for still having love for America. And enrolling son in America. And leading me to Nirav!
Young folk I know healing the world in many states in America with their healing gifts . Plus lots going on online. To help people.
Yes my hippie self is definitely reeling.
It’s in god s hands and the angels
I have not voted actually there was no choice
Democracy/socialism as I’ve heard is easier in smaller countries?
Inevitable with population growth matrix systems
Worse economy
Fast pace society when nobody wants to connect deeply anymore
Dividing peoples
SM and politics making us think in black and white
A lot of Americans share your views but we are trapped in a country that is all about getting the most you can while stepping on others to get it. We vote, we march and nothing is changing. I worry for my kids and what the future will be like for them.
Hear, hear! Thank you, Vishen, for having the courage to speak out. We need influential voices like yours to say what others won’t. Hopefully, those who supported this guy are starting to regret it. Here’s to a blue wave in 2026.
Thank you. I’m heart broken by what is happening in my country. It’s hard to fathom that there was so much fear and hate here to allow what is happening allover the USA now. I can’t understand people I have known my whole life who bought into the propaganda. There are brave people providing flickers of hope. I love your description of the USA being a lighthouse. I promote peace, being kind and compassionate. Thank you for being a light.
This landed in my inbox and lifted my soul. Thank you… as a person who has a wide audience… for giving words and voice for so many who watch with horror at the direction humankind is on the brink of taking … again. Maybe just maybe, with enough voices we can choose differently and see through the illusion of separation
So sorry you feel that way Vishen. It’s what makes the world go around. Your thoughts reflect a mindset that is so deeply depressing and deeply not reality. The top 1% pay 46% of US Federal Taxes, do you know that Vishan. The bottom 50% pay 3%. do you know thay Vishan? We are the shining light in the world and always will be. What wars are enabling right now Vishan? We are stabilizing peace not destabilising it. Where exactly are these vengence actions. Name 2. The storm of propoganda is on your side of the aisle Vishan. We do not govern be feelings and emotion. I feel sad for you and your kind. So sad.
I’ve been hoping to hear from you, with your thoughtful intelligence and far reaching voice, on this.
Thank you for expressing what so many of us are feeling and looking for effective ways to express.
Vishen-
I appreciate your thoughts. I didn’t vote for Trump, and never would. He doesn’t represent anything I believe in. That is most likely the same situation for the vast majority the Americans who subscribe to the Mindvalley point of view. Mindvalley is about making things better and developing oneself into a better person, everyday. Trump isn’t about that at all, obviously. I appreciate that you are calling on Americans to stand firm in the best values we have to demand a greater world, and I think it’s important to recognize that voting is a super tiny limited way to create change because this is not a democracy, we the people do not decide who becomes the president (the electoral college does that), and the voting system as it stands is not fair and doesn’t create a representative democracy.
If you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to check out this book:
The Primary Solution: Rescuing Our Democracy from the Fringes By Nick Troiano
It describes exactly the ways our “democratic” systems of election fall short. Voting is one piece of the puzzle, but I’m a green party member and always have been- voting is something I do, but it doesn’t feel like it’s worth anything because we don’t have ranked choice voting for the president, thus, my vote is WASTED, EVERY TIME I vote with my conscience and my heart for the president. It doesn’t have to be this way, but the biggest, most powerful solution I can see to our country’s problems isn’t voting in a broken system- it’s voting REFORM, to make the voting system and process actually FAIR and representative.
– Isabelle
Amen🙏🏼
Vishen, I agree, this is a good conversation to have. I always admire your courage to initiate these topics. Your letter was very hard for me to read. While I agree with everything you are seeking and admiring about America, it feels like you are speaking from the perspective of the outer layer facade of America. I would invite you to do a little more digging. Live in curiosity as to why. Everything else I have learned from you has come from a thorough deep dive into a topic; here I feel you are barely scratching the surface. Regardless of the path we choose to
get there, I feel that we both are looking for the same thing. I hope you enjoy your travels with your son. That sounds amazing! And good luck with the college application process! Very exciting! <3
Vishen, thank you for your love of America and the open letter because America also believes in freedom of speech! 🇺🇸❤️
Will you please also teach your son the following: The land on which Mount Rushmore is located was originally part of the Black Hills, an area sacred to the Lakota Sioux Native American tribe. The U.S. government signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, which recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation and guaranteed the land to the Lakota.
However, following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in the mid-1870s, the U.S. government violated the treaty and took control of the land. This led to a series of conflicts and legal disputes between the Lakota Sioux and the federal government. The Lakota continue to assert their claim to the Black Hills, viewing Mount Rushmore as a symbol of broken treaties and cultural loss. Today, the land is managed as part of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which is a national park under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
It is important that we know and understand all aspects of American history as some we’re proud of and some we should never repeat!
Love,
MV Student