Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States but New York City is its beating heart. It's called the Big Apple because that’s exactly what it is, the biggest, most important, most dynamic city in the country. It symbolizes and epitomizes everything America stands for and has always stood for and is the center of the country in virtually every way imaginable. It is also the center of the world in many, many ways and what happens there affects everyone around the globe, not just Americans.