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.
950 Responses
In many ways I agree with your letter. There is chaos raging in the US. The division amongst us all is worse than ever.
But I take a more optimistic view. In order to break free from the deep corruption that has overtaken our country for many many years, we have to experience a deep unraveling.
It’s starts with exposure of the corruption. Also needed is a hard look at our surroundings to evaluate what’s causing the collapse of our country. People need to be honest about what affects them personally day to day.
Our country could not continue as it was…constant war since Afghanistan. Iraq, Libya, Syria…
And I certainly pray, not now Iran.
My hope is that us, the people, come together and stop identifying with one of two parties.
Break away from the rhetoric. We need to realize, it’s not our elected officials that will save us. Only we can. As citizens coming together. Form bi- partisan coalitions in your communities and find the common ground!
Wonderful description of your view, and the basis upon which I have canceled my subscription – your arrogance of talking down to the majority of Americans who voted for our President in with a overwhelming majority, and at the same time, speaking for the rest of the world. Please do Americans – who love this country, who love their sons, fathers and daughters, know what a man and a women is, and take action rather than take up the time of hard working Americans with pronouncements – a favor, keep your son wherever he is (being taught by you) and remain there too. You’re so brilliant and insightful in your view that American isn’t good enough for you.
Delusional.
Trump fell short of a majority, earning 49.8% (~77.3 million votes), while Kamala Harris secured 48.3% (~75.0 million)
Although he won the Electoral College, those numbers still did not reach a full majority (> 50%)—he won with a plurality. His margin over Harris was just around 1.5 percentage points.
Let me see the letter you wrote when the democrats were destroying our country. And they still are, look at California right now, look at all the democrat cities, is that how America is supposed to look according to you? Is that the country you want for your son?
This letter is nonsense.
I am very impressed you post every reply. This shows openness to criticism and not just praise. Sad to those who do not see it. I love when I read somewhere that from outer space there are no borders. I hope to live long enough to see Peace on Earth.
AMEN to this! And I truly respect you for speaking your mind, the minds of many of us, publicly the way you do. That is how true leaders act.
Thank you for these words. It summarizes everything I’ve been feeling in my lived experience in the US. I am grateful for platforms like MV to help me stay centered and balanced amidst all of the political chaos.🙏🏽
Thank You Vishen,
You are a highly evolved Being .
I am so grateful for you and others like you .
Many Blessings 🤍🤍🤍🤍
May Earth Heal .
May the human consciousness be raised urgently .
I
Vishen I am very surprised and disappointed that you have chosen to air your political views on this platform. It is our job as light workers and spiritual beings to hold the highest vibration of love. With the many transformations of this planet through the eons of time, we have seen both sides over and over again. I don’t remember you voicing your opinion with the last administration. When our borders were penetrated in millions of illegal aliens came across our borders, including gang members and terrorist. People who stole money from the Legal citizens of this country. And all the wars that were needlessly fought for money and the horrific child trafficking that is now being . But I digress. I love this country and I want to see it thrive again. I want to see our children happy with passion for something in their future. I am surrounded by teenagers with my grandkids and their friends, and these children have been brainwashed, targeted with chemicals in their food, jabbed with prescription drugs that are designed to dumb down their brains and spirits, and locked to their screens most of the day either in school… on their phones… or in their video games.
We must inspire these children with positivity and spiritual education that teaches them about their true selves. If we keep taking sides then we are doing the same thing that all of those who destroyed this world have done… Divide and conquer. I feel you’ve made a mistake by putting this out on the Mind Valley platform. I am not interested in political discussions here but that’s what this has turned into.
Vishen, I knew where you were standing and what your points of view were for a couple of years now; and I am very happy you decided to speak up. We should all do that. “Standing in your lane” while things go sideways is never an answer; but a sign of weakness because it usually comes from bypassing. I too dream about a bright American future, though I live in Europe. Because it affects all of us. I wish more and more leaders come out like this and do their part as activists for a better world. Mindvalley member & forever fan 🫶
Vishen, I knew where you were standing and what your points of view were for a couple of years now; and I am very happy you decided to speak up. We should all do that. “Standing in your lane” while things go sideways is never an answer; but a sign of weakness because it usually comes from bypassing. I too dream about a bright American future, though I live in Europe. Because it affects all of us. I wish more and more leaders come out like this and do their part as activists for a better world. Mindvalley member & forever fan 🫶
Thank you Vishen, for this letter.
The pro-authoritarian sentiment in some of these comments is breathtaking, especially on the heels of seeing Tucker Carlson come right out this week and say what the rest of us have known for ages– that Fox News deliberately manipulates people, especially seniors. And that it is a “propaganda hose” (his words).
The slashing cuts Trump has made to our critical infrastructure he has done only to extend the tax breaks to his billionaire backers, which are set to expire this year. This is the only reason DOGE exists, that and for Elon to get his companies deregulated, because most of the agencies he took out were actively investigating him.
It’s very sad when people get brainwashed into voting against their own best interests. The disastrous budget bill the party in power is desperate to pass cuts every single safety net for seniors, children, the poor, veterans, and our country’s most vulnerable. It’s the most destructive bill in our Nation’s history.
This bill requires massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, Veterans’s healthcare and services, SNAP (which provides food to children and seniors), and child care credits, resulting in vastly increased costs for the nation’s poorest families. It would result in the closures of rural hospitals, and take away health insurance for up to 1 in 5 children. It also takes money away from public schools and re-allocates them to private charter schools, providing scholarships for rich kids while creating a $5 billion shelter for GOP donors. The only people who benefit from this budget are billionaires, who don’t need the tax breaks.
Not that you would know it from the childish “Mythbusters” page on the White House website.
*****
But the worst thing the bill does is undermine Democracy, and this is something that would give Trump king-like powers with zero guardrails, and it’s retroactive. This alone is the single most destructive thing that could happen to our country, and it’s a direct result of suggestions from Project 2025. Anyone who cares about democracy needs to be calling their Senators to urge them to stop this, because the vote is this week.
It is so terrible that Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission said,
“This outrageous change would undermine the rule of law and allow government officials, including the president, to escape the possibility of being held in contempt of court if they violate court orders. The provision would even apply to court orders and injunctions issued before this law takes effect. In essence, the provision could in a single stroke render thousands of prior orders across the country unenforceable via contempt proceedings. The rule of law in our country would be dangerously undermined if this provision becomes law.”
It destroys the courts’ ability to hold government officials accountable, which in effect, is our very last check and balance on unchecked authoritarian efforts. If we cannot use the courts to hold the government accountable, we will be officially in an authoritarian state. Countless experts agree on this, and experts on tyranny itself like Timothy D. Snyder and several others have left the USA for Canada, because they see the frightening similarities between us right now and 1930s Germany.
Immigrants contributed nearly $100 billion in taxes in 2022 (yes they pay taxes), according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. They have paid a commensurate amount annually. Meanwhile, Trump wasted $30 million of our money on his golf trips in just a few short months, another $45 million on that parade nobody went to, and DOGE wasted billions without saving us any money. In fact, the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on the federal workforce, estimates DOGE’s cuts will cost taxpayers $135 billion this year alone. It’s clear where the waste really is.
Then there is the fact that Trump forced Tulsi Gabbard to say Iran was working on nukes, when her own address to Congress a few weeks ago based on our intelligence showed that this wasn’t true, and that there wasn’t any evidence of proliferation. His bombing without Congressional consent is disturbing, and the whole thing is giving Hans Blix commission vibes from the Iraq war— manufacturing nukes that aren’t there, then going in on the basis of that. All this to distract from the way he’s dismantling every civil protection we have here in America.
Thank you for offering your thoughts on this. Everyone saying you should stay out of politics needs a reminder that you’re as entitled to comment on politics as they are.
🙏🤍🕉
The U.S. is still the greatest republic in the world. Our political system has challenges on both sides. We had a vote last Nov and a man was elected. That is the process, we accept the results and support the country. I’m authentically happy you can choose a great school for your son and travel the country. You have , and are, living the American dream. Ps. I voted for the independent in Nov.
Vishen,
Maybe you learned from the universities and companies here in America, but you still left. Now, you want to send your son to school here, what is wrong with other universities around the world? Not good enough, but good enough to live here and educate here?
Your views are so biased, you should be a guest on “The View”, the one sided, leftist view of those women that stand for the corruption of the Biden/Obama administrations and the demonstrations paid for and run by the Soros organized crime family. Maybe if you knew the facts, you would think differently.
The wars are already stated prior to President Trump. You are a Trump hater, that is it. Call a spade a spade.
If you have this big beautiful world-wide platform, then use it for good to improve this great country if the USA. Yes, you try to help improve peoples lives, and you do, but do not denigrate this great country.
President Trump, at 79, could be on one of his golf courses, living in peace at Trump Tower or Mar-a-Lago, running his real estate and gold empire, and making more money for his family. He does not need this position; he lives this country and wants to correct what is wrong. The politicians on both sides are corrupt and he knows it- but cannot “drain the swamp”.
So you wanted Kamala “word-salad” Harris to be our president. We would now have 50 million illegals and all the prisons from all over the world would have let their prisoners run free in America.
The money that our government sends around the world funds corruption and wars. It was not Trump who funded Ukraine with $350B.
The citizens of the USA need to take our country back from all politicians and get the corruption and illegal spending out of government.
Vishen, get your facts straight and then write a new blog of the truth!
I never comment on posts, but this time I have to. Brilliantly written, with courage and compassion. I share your voice, concerns, and hopes from far-away South Africa. Thank you, Vishen, for speaking up when others stay silent.
Thank you, thank you, thank you♥️ for your wise words. I have been waiting for somebody like you to react to that horrible situation in US. Where is the love, empathy, respect for others and acceptance of differences? They have been forgotten and replaced by selfishness, hatred and violence. Right now I wish that these ideas and lessons that you, Vishen, and your colleagues teach, should be included in the education programs of all schools, universities and communities.
With a broken heart greetings from Finland:
Humanity is lost (or is it?), help💔
I wonder if the probems we are seeing across the world are part of a greater problem rooted in the explosion of the total human population. Is this a turning point where we are figuring out how and if we can all still live and share planet earth together or have we reached a threshold where this has become too challenging and a major shift and rebalancing has to occur. through the effects of territorial war and climate change. I pray we can find a smarter, peaceful way forward where humanity and earth can prosper together in a new way.
Vishen, you said:
“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.”
Would you react, over-react, if I said that is Khamenei, that’s right Ayotollah Khameini?
He is what you ask for…if he was perceived as “soft” to the West.
Khamenei is scoffed at for his age, for his beard (“why doesn’t he just use a Gillette and wear a suit, then we might listen to him”?) and countless other pernickety and superficial judgments from the West.
…From the same culture and tradition as Rumi, the philosopher poet. The essence of the Persian. No Ego.
Persia/Iran may have become “radicalized” more recently. But on citing the great fall of the West, you can amply see why now, though we couldn’t see it earlier.
The father, the mother, will do anything to protect their brood from the predators at the gate. That may call for some drastic measures. But it has been so. You cannot cure corruption with the corrupt. But you can soften the “hard by experience” with truth, sincerity, loyalty, honesty, non-duplicity. Those qualities that almost cannot be found in the desert of soul that has become the great American desolation.
I am not American so I should leave all this to the Americans. But, I could not disagree with you more
The world doesn’t hate you.
We’re not laughing at you.
You wrote….,
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.
How do you know that the people who voted for the current leader, did not do so with all of this in mind?
Why is it, when someone disagrees with an opinion, they are painted as less of a thinker, or less of a cater. Why don’t you ever ask the people why they chose what they did instead of assuming ignorance or anger and so on.
We the people, can only know what is reported by the biggest political parties in the world- the media. We all know that words are powerful and that depending on how you present facts or data, the story is very different. Right now, the administration does not use the general media to manipulate public opinion- they may use their own, but those who read that are already on board. Can you be sure that the past administrations have not manipulated the masses using the media?
Right now, when a ‘fact’ is presented, no one questions the ‘fact’, they degrade the person who presented it. This is not what I call good process either.
If I understand it, the United Nations used to use American military as its big stick. American soldiers were everywhere. Doing work for everyone else, but no said thanks. A lot has been taken for granted, and money has gone missing in the millions of dollars. Surely, this is not the America you want?
A section of the community is down trodden and feel afraid of the authorities- that didn’t happen under Trump. Homelessness, veterans going without didn’t happen under trump, assassinations of presidents did t happen under trump.
Very disappointing for you to use your platform to be a political advocate for what was the status quo –
If due to the current swing to the right, American culture permanently loses the “political correctness cramp” from the past “Liberal age” I personally would be jumping for joy. I think it is high time that democratically minded people get more tolerant to at hearing points of view and ways of expression that they don’t agree with. Because those opinions are THERE, you can’t erase them by telling them they’re bad, bad, bad.
It is also important that minorities simply calmly keep standing strong and keep demanding respect in a respectful way, no matter what they are called by whom. It is high time minorities asked for the respect they deserve to be shown by actions, in practice, rather than by choice or censorship of words. Soon as we stop letting words disempower us they will cease to be effective as a weapon!
If Dems had completely ignored Trump instead of constantly scratching the itch on their way oversensitive morality skin he causes, he wouldn’t be President now. What has been greatly overlooked in all the Trump-bashing, is the role the elitist liberal culture, that eternal insuffrable wagging index finger, has played in getting it this far.
Yet again, the liberal side has been persistently focusing all it’s attention on what it DOESN’T want, instead of making clear what it does want. Constantly Democrats allow themselves to be lowered into the tactics of political shaming-blaming the other side, rather than truly standing up to what they believe can be done, and showing how that might be done.
That which you give attention, grows! This is why I like your message. It focuses on what you do want. I also like the fact that you as CEO speak out. It may however be a bit easier for the tech giant you are because of not being based in the USA – but I hope you influence your peers tehre.
More true mindfulness rather than posturing is key in the ongoing martial arts fight for public and political attention. Trump may think of politics as a boxing match, and granted, he’s good at boxing, but a clever martial arts fighter will win from a boxer triple his/her size any time.
I hope America’s constitutional democracy will come out more robust than ever (including making it possible to sensibly amend the Constitution there where it’s focus is outdated), I hope separation of presidential, congressional and juridical powers not only will hold but come out more reaffirmed as a tried and tested way to protect governments from corruption and power abuse. I hope that the big lesson out of all of this will be that while “sticks and stones may break our bones, words will never hurt us”. Instead, words are able to heal us when focussed with pure intent on bridging the polarisation gap, instead of making it bigger.