I’ve begun to realize something I should have realized long ago: There is no substitute for America.

About a decade ago, we were afraid of Russia. A couple years back, it was China. Now, set aside all the paranoia and take a good hard look at our world today. It’s an absolute mess, and the international community has its eyes on Washington, D.C., with President Barack Obama thrust into the spotlight riding on the hopes of not just the U.S., but the first, second and third worlds.

Talk about pressure — that’s a lot of worlds.

The economy is in shambles; not just domestically, but everywhere. We are seeing some of the detriments that globalization produces; in the history of civilization, there have never been so many people who are so intangibly connected in such a vast array.

The U.S. is the foundation upon which the modern world has developed. Call it arrogance or egoism, but it’s the truth of the matter. Sure, there is plenty of resentment directed at America abroad, but our sphere of influence directly impacts even the most volatile of countries.

The fact remains that we are No. 1 when it comes to economy, military and standards of living. So when we’re hurting, the rest of the world is smarting pretty badly. Allies or enemies, it’s all the same; if there is one world leader that everyone knows, love or hate, it’s the president of the U.S.

Obama’s address to Congress on Tuesday night was an appeal for our future. Whether you agree with his policies, the man knows how to articulate our grievances and lay them all out on the table. That’s the kind of leader we need right now to weather the storm and put forth a face to the world that we know what we are doing, and though we made mistakes, we are willing to remedy them.

What we need is to unite and not be disparate in a critical time when we need to take critical measures. Obama’s stated goals of reviving the economy, creating credit flow, tempering the housing crisis and putting more focus on health care and education are goals that we all share and strive to achieve.

After all, it is the resiliency of our country in times of duress that has helped us to climb to the upper echelons of the world and emerge as the strongest of them all.

I believe that our country is ready to take the reins once again and relinquish the erroneous platitudes that have guided our policies for the past eight years. We are ready to move on, into an era in which partisanship is not the definitive factor in our decisions.

The Republican Party needs to realize this and take the time to find common ground with the Democrats, because Obama’s reign has just begun, and he’s got four years in the house.

Our nation and the world want reform. We want to have hope. We want positive change to propel us forward. We want to be the viable leader of the free world once more.

Russia, China or Europe can’t step up to the plate. Only we can, and only if we can find cooperation within ourselves will it happen. Now, let’s go kick ass, America.

Reach Alana at alana.arbuthnot@asu.edu.