I woke up in the small town of Heemstede, the Netherlands last Saturday, having spent exactly a week back in my native Netherlands. I return to the Netherlands every summer to see family, hang out with friends, and immerse myself for a few weeks in the culture I so miss when I’m in my current home of New York. I got up and went downstairs, made myself some breakfast and sat down to watch the morning news. Suddenly when I turned the TV on Nazi flags waved across my screen. The sounds of white people yelling homophobic slurs filled the room. There was a cut to footage of dozens, perhaps hundreds, standing proudly in front of a statue commemorated to a man who fought for the continuation of slavery. Cut again to footage of a car ramming into a crowd of counter-protesters, of which I later learned a young civil rights activist died.

I knew about the Charlottesville protests a few days before then and simply shook my head and felt ashamed for the country I live in, but I could never have predicted that it would escalate to this level of hatred and intolerance. Watching the news footage almost felt theatrical to me, like it was a movie I was watching, or at least not reality.

But it is.

Just like in the American Civil War there are still people willing to literally fight their fellow Americans to proudly defend what they believe is “southern heritage,” while they should not be proud at all of people like Robert E. Lee and what they fought for. Just like in the 1930's there are still people passionately waving flags that represent hatred, intolerance, and white supremacy. Only now we’re not in Nazi Germany, but in the United States, a country where supposedly everyone agrees that “all men are created equal.” And just like in the 1960's there are still people hatefully yelling racist slurs because they genuinely believe that social, political, and economic equality regardless of race or ethnicity is invasive and threatening to American culture. Only now there is no LBJ to show his disapproval by signing the Civil Rights Act. There instead is a president who fails to condemn the words and actions of these people and those who support them, in turn making them feel empowered.

America has definitely been a progressive country at times. At the beginning of the 20th century, it enacted child labor laws and laws for conservation, for instance. And in 2009 it was in the process of crafting the Affordable Care Act.

But currently, the difference in progress between America and the rest of the world is astounding.

It took me about a week in the much more progressive Netherlands to really notice this difference. For instance, while I still believe that there are bona fide racists in the Netherlands, they are not as empowered as the ones in America. The Netherlands once made enormous economic profits off of slavery just like the United States, but currently, it would be unheard of to have Dutch racists come together to fight against the equality of all races. And not too long ago the Netherlands had an election in which an Islamophobe winning support with his rhetoric on fear and xenophobia ran for prime minister, but the Dutch were forward-thinking enough to know he would only halt our progress. But the people of the United States? Not so much.

And the difference is not just evident on the topic of race and religion. Not too long ago I was having dinner in a restaurant by the Dutch coast and noticed it had gender-neutral bathrooms. There was just one room with toilets and one with urinals. I soon noticed more of those in museums and other public places as well. Meanwhile, in the United States, there still exists a debate over whether or not someone can enter a bathroom based on the gender they identify with. And while I was zapping through late-night Dutch TV last Sunday I came across a commercial for a dating app for all genders and sexualities, but the creators of the app chose to advertise it using a lesbian couple. That kind of acceptance of LGBTQ+ couples in American culture has been unheard of so far, especially now that our vice president is someone who once openly supported conversion therapy and our president is someone who believes transgender individuals should not be allowed to serve in the military, thus reversing the achievable integration and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in American society.

But how the Netherlands and the United States view each other indicates this rift in modernity between the countries the most. Whereas in the past Dutch people would always become curious and excited when I revealed to them I had been living in America, now they simply chuckle, shake their head, and make fun of Donald Trump and others who run the country for their backward thinking. At the same time, American politicians are looking at small European countries like the Netherlands as examples for healthcare legislation, prison systems, and equality on all fronts. It’s simple: the United States is no longer a country people look up to. The rest of the world is laughing at America and counting their blessings while Americans continue to express their desire to “move to Canada” or other less powerful but more progressive countries. It has gotten to the point where the first lady of Japan would rather pretend not to speak English than converse with America’s president. Dozens of progressive countries just no longer want to be associated with America because it’s no longer a country they look up to and appreciate for what it promotes.

That being said, I do still genuinely believe America can become progressive again.

After all slavery has been abolished, Americans helped defeat fascist governments abroad, and all public places now support integration. But Americans cannot get lazy if they want their country to become one to be looked up to again. Americans cannot continue to glorify men who fought for slavery if they want their country to be an example for others to follow. Heather Heyer and the other counter-protesters in Charlottesville knew that and bravely stood up for progress and equality. There are politicians and activists all across the country who stand for the same things, but they need active support to make change happen.

Silence is not an option. Only through Americans taking action and being advocates for progress can America return to its former glory.