It speaks volumes about the greatness of our nation, that even in one of our lowest periods, people from across the world still want to live here.

Although all those bad things are happening, the promise of opportunity still exists here. Many successful businesses, such as Microsoft, CNN and Burger King, began during down economic periods.

The wealth of opportunity is only part of why the United States still is a great nation in which to live.

The transition of foreign policy from utilitarianism to multilateralism has made America seem less aggressive.

This change helps the perception of the U.S. abroad. It is harder to justify “death to all Americans” if America is significantly helping your nation.

It would be hard to understate President Barack Obama’s involvement in this rekindling of international good will. Even during the campaign last year, Obama was warmly welcomed by people across Europe and Asia. Obama even has higher approval ratings abroad than he has in his own country.

As a result of this, Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for what some are calling “not being George W. Bush.” Although that is a simple way to put it, Obama’s foreign policy has helped change the stereotype of Americans away from the lone warhawk.

The new emphasis on soft power makes other nations feel welcomed and appreciated, instead of neglected.

A popular counterargument is that America should not be concerned with what the international community thinks since we are a sovereign nation. One might even point to Iraq and Afghanistan as reasons why the U.S. shouldn’t be worried about multilateralism. The Iraq war, which mostly has been fought by our military, has been somewhat stabilized, while the Afghan war still is largely unstable.

The Obama administration even has escalated the war effort in Afghanistan by using more plane drones to bomb targets along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

An opponent to soft power foreign policy might point to these as examples of international conflicts that will likely never be solved by diplomacy.

Soft power is not the solution to all problems, though. Although it seeks to influence nations through diplomatic engagement, foreign aid and a multilateral approach to problem solving, it will not make all the people of the world like us.

A reporter for Newsweek recently interviewed Russian college students on their views of Russian-American relations. As a person who thought the de-escalation of hard-power strategies would increase our international standing, some of the comments were shocking.

One student said, “Americans are enemies. We should be very cautious. They hatch plots against us all the time, and all their military bases in the Czech Republic and Hungary must be closely monitored.”

The comments seemed like they belonged in the 1960s, not 2009. Although not all the students interviewed thought negatively of the U.S, it still is surprising that such opinions still exist on a college campus.

To be fair to those interviewed, an average American college student might say similar things about Russia. Decades of propaganda are hard to shake, especially when it has become popular to accuse people of being socialists and communists in spite of evidence to the contrary.

It is necessary to realize that no matter what kind of foreign policy a nation chooses, there still will be people who dislike our country.

Even though some around the world still complain about the faults of the U.S., I am confident that the ability for our nation to self-correct and find common ground among diverse groups of people, both within and abroad, remains one of our greatest strengths.