America seems anxious of late. 
 

Why, you might ask? Well, besides nerves over health care, the economy, the war, taxes, education, political parties and other such trivialities, we seem to fret over the likelihood that we will no longer be the belle of the international ball.  It would appear that we are terrified of giving up our undisputed title as the world’s number one to our largest financer and cultural antithesis, China.
 

The horror! The pain! The sting of being second best is believed by some to be worse than being third—just ask any Olympic silver medalist; while America famously loves the underdog, it never actually wants to be the underdog.
 

We love being number one so we might hold our heads high when we sing our national anthem and wholeheartedly chant “We’re number one!” and “U.S.A.!” ad nauseam at international sporting events. The pomp and spectacle of our patriotism is nearly unparalleled—think drunken American college kids roaming the streets of Europe on the Fourth of July, usually draped in the American flag and often toting a boom box.  I kid you not; I have seen it first hand.
 

The more I contemplate the international political scene, however, the more I think that being number two would not be so bad after all. In fact, I daresay I sometimes even wish that we would just throw in the towel already and retire comfortably to the international backburner.
 

You see, being number one is not that great. Sure, there are some perks, but even greater are the pressures and responsibilities that come with such power. All eyes are on us and most of the time the limelight is not so flattering. Nearly every move we makes is scrutinized, stereotyped and scoffed at. And as the self-proclaimed world police and world philanthropists we find it necessary to interfere in every possible political or natural disaster. So why not relax and give someone else a go?
 

When we look to modern history at the other states that once held the position of roost ruler, we see that while passing on the torch may be painful at first, it pays off in the long run. Take Spain, which once controlled the greatest empire the world had ever seen—it had to let go for one reason or another but everything seemed to turn out alright. And how about England?  After turning the power over to us, albeit reluctantly, it seems to be pretty comfortable.
 

I venture to suggest that we turn over power peacefully, with a relieved and knowing smile, and let China deal with this mess.

Rebecca Quinn is a junior art history, Spanish, and French triple major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].